Chlorinated Pesticides May Up Diabetes Risk
Constant exposure to chlorinated pesticides may raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to researches from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers studied 31,000 licensed pesticide applicators who participated in the Agricultural Health Study. According to them licensed applicators use more potent formulations of the chemicals than are found in products sold for home and garden use. Results of the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, showed that 1,176 of the study participants had developed type 2 diabetes five years after enrolling in the study. Half of the 50 different pesticides that the researchers looked at were chlorinated, seven of which¬aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, dichlorvos, trichlorfon, alachlor, and cyanazine-were tied to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The risk was found to be higher among those who had been exposed to the seven chemicals, and the risk increased even more as cumulative days of lifetime exposure increased. Also, there was a strong link between exposure to these chemicals and obesity, as people with more body fat may store more of the chemicals in their bodies. “All of the seven are chlorinated compounds. We don’t know yet what the implication of that is, but it can’t be a coincidence. I think it’s an important clue for future research,” said study investigator Dr. Freya Kamel of the National Institute of Erwironmental Health in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, in an interview.
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