What We're Reading: Pesticides and Type 2 Diabetes

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May 29, 2008

What We're Reading: Pesticides and Type 2 Diabetes

Web Team

Earlier this month, the American Journal of Epidemiology published a study that demonstrated a link between seven types of pesticides and risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The study looked at over 31,000 licensed pesticide applicators, who reported their exposure to pesticides at the beginning of the study and were asked about their diabetes status five years later. Researchers recorded the approximate number of days that each study participant was exposed to a given pesticide throughout his or her life.

The researchers found that for seven chlorinated pesticides, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes increased for every day that study participants were exposed to them. For one pesticide, participants who had been exposed to it for at least 100 days had a 94% higher rate of Type 2 diabetes than those who had not been exposed to it.

A summary of the study can be found on the Web site of the American Journal of Epidemiology. An article on the study is also available at MedlinePlus.

This blog entry was written by Editorial Assistant Quinn Phillips.

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