Link between pesticides and diabetes shown in study

A new study has found that those people who have quite a high level of specific pesticides in their blood could face a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, especially if they are overweight.
The research from Finland, which was published in the journal Diabetes Care, monitored blood levels of several persistent organic pollutants in around 2,000 older adults, with over 15 percent suffering from type 2 diabetes. It was shown that the risk was increased for those with the highest levels of organochlorine pesticides.
The findings follow previous research that revealed a link between now-banned pesticides such as organochlorines, PCBs and other chemicals seen as persistent organic pollutants and the development of diabetes. The problem is that these pollutants can stay in the environment for many years and can build up high levels in both animal and human body fat from fatty foods such as dairy products and oily fish.
Some of these persistent organic pollutants are thought to harm the ability to regulate levels of blood sugar, a possible link with type 2 diabetes, while some have been shown to promote obesity. The findings alone are not enough to prove that organochlorine pesticides caused the increased diabetes risk, but the lack of data on both exercise levels and diet may indicate the reason behind the link with diabetes.