Previously, it has been revealed that the use of certain pesticides at home might increase the risk of childhood cancer. However, a recent study claimed that pesticides are also linked to increased risk of diabetes. The report said that long-term exposure to pesticides can significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (60 percent).

“Our study suggests that pesticides can significantly increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even though at present we can not determine whether there is a causal relationship.” said Dr. Kavvoura, “ However, we found that exposure to any pesticide would increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 60% in the investigation of patients including more than 80,000 cases.”

 
This study is an expansion of a similar study in 2013. From 2006 to 2013, The European Food and Health Association is committed to finding the relationship between pesticides and diabetes. Authors in this current study also referred to the relevant research results of this period.

 
“Given the previous reports have found the increase of type 2 diabetes, we believe that corroborating from other angles will make the conclusion more powerful.” Kavvoura explained, “In fact, this study is to understand the incidence of type 2 diabetes increase in recent years. We all know that diabetes is a kind of common disease caused by multiple factors, including the impact of genetic factors and environmental factors; however, from the burst phenomenon of diabetes in recent decades, we can see the genetic factors alone can not play this role.”

 
The pesticides most strongly associated with diabetes were DDE and DDT. Although all the pesticides evaluated have been banned worldwide, Dr Kavvoura explained that “in general, pesticides are lipophilic and accumulate in body fat either through direct exposure or through the food chain, and over the years, they expose the individual to their effects.”

 
The study also found that pesticides can promote the storage of fat in the liver, pancreas and muscles, resulting in insulin resistance and the developing of health problems including type 2 diabetes.

 
Kavvoura thought that the European Food and Health Association should take this result into consideration in the future pesticides use permission. In addition, she also believes that more follow-up studies are needed to discover the molecular mechanisms.