Exposure to certain resistant organic pollutants during pregnancy is associated with a 4 times higher risk of gestational diabetes.
In pregnant women, exposure to organic pollutants 10 times higher than normal is associated with a 4 times higher risk of gestational diabetes, reveals a study presented in Annual Congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and soon published in the journal Diabetologia.
Of many works have already shown in rats and humans that certain herbicides such as atrazine cause insulin resistance and the development of gestational diabetes. Here, Greek researchers from the University of Crete (Heraklion) focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
Accumulation and persistence
These pesticides or insecticides accumulate in the environment and living things, and degrade very slowly. Despite the ban on a large number of these products for decades (DDT, toxaphene, chloradane, etc.), they are found in measurable quantities all over the world, even in regions that have never used them.
The link between their use and the appearance of breast cancer, leukemia or lymphoma, or even reproductive disorders is now recognized. On the other hand, little work has assessed their effect on diabetes.
For this work, nearly 640 pregnant women participating in the Greek Rhea cohort were followed. Thanks to the blood samples collected, the researchers were able to determine the concentrations of the three major types of POPs unintentionally released by industry (PCB, HCB and PAH). Between the 24e and 28e weeks pregnant, pregnant women were screened for gestational diabetes.
The PCB involved
A total of 7% of women developed insulin resistance during their pregnancy. This rate corresponds to the current prevalence of gestational diabetes in France, where 2 to 6% of women are affected. However, eliminating all confounding factors, the authors noted a risk multiplied by 4 if the women had PCB concentrations 10 times higher than normal. It appears, moreover, that the other two POPs tested are not associated with gestational diabetes.
“While many countries around the world, including Greece, face an increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes, these findings are important from a public health perspective as well as knowledge of the environmental risk that could help reverse the disease. trend, ”say the authors. They add that their next work will examine the link between prenatal exposure to PCBs and the development of diabetes in childhood.
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