Pollutants' link to diabetes A preliminary study has found Americans who live near toxic waste sites are hospitalized more for diabetes than those who live in clean communities.
As type 2 diabetes has exploded -- a two-fold increase from 5.8 million to 13.3 million Americans from 1980 to 2002 -- scientists have scrambled to find explanations for the rise. Although experts often point to the obesity epidemic, that alone can't account for it, David Carpenter said.
Indeed, the "evidence is accumulating rapidly that environmental exposures are very important factors," he said.
As type 2 diabetes has exploded -- a two-fold increase from 5.8 million to 13.3 million Americans from 1980 to 2002 -- scientists have scrambled to find explanations for the rise. Although experts often point to the obesity epidemic, that alone can't account for it, David Carpenter said.
Indeed, the "evidence is accumulating rapidly that environmental exposures are very important factors," he said.