Phthalates found in cosmetics and plastics raise the risk of developing diabetes among seniors, according to a new study by researchers at Uppsala University.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, found even a modest increase in circulating phthalate levels doubles the risk of diabetes.
"Although our results need to be confirmed in more studies, they do support the hypothesis that certain environmental chemicals can contribute to the development of diabetes," said lead researcher Monica Lind, and environmental medicine specialist at the Section for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Uppsala University.
For the study, researchers analyzed health records of more than 1,000 70-year-old women and men in Uppsala. In physical exams, participants were examined for fasting blood sugar and insulin measures. They also submitted blood samples for analysis of various environmental toxins, including several substances formed when the body breaks down phthalates, which are used as softening agents in plastics and in containers of perfumes in cosmetics and self-care products.
Researchers found diabetes was more common in people who were overweight and had high blood cholesterol. But seniors with elevated blood levels of phthalates were also found to have roughly twice the risk of developing diabetes compared with those with lower levels. In addition, phthalates were associated with disrupted insulin production in the pancreas.
"However, to find out whether phthalates truly are risk factors for diabetes, further studies are needed that show similar associations… But experimental studies on animals and cells are also needed regarding what biological mechanisms might underlie these connections," said Lind.
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