Outdoor air pollution contributes to diabetes, study finds

CHICAGO - New research has linked outdoor air pollution, even at levels deemed safe, to an increased risk of diabetes.

The study, carried out at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in collaboration with scientists at the Veterans Affairs' Clinical Epidemiology Center, examined the relationship between particulate matter and the risk of diabetes by first analyzing data from 1.7 million US veterans, who did not have histories of the disease and were followed for a median of 8.5 years.

The researchers linked the patient data with the Environmental Protection Agency's land-based air monitoring systems as well as satellites operated by the NASA.