People with prediabetes or diabetes who live in ozone-polluted areas may have an increased risk for an irreversible disease with a high mortality rate. A new study recently published in the Environmental Health Perspectives connects insulin resistance and repetitive ozone exposure to the development of interstitial lung disease.
“Our findings are especially important today as we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, where we have great concern regarding the convergence of health effects from air pollution and SARS-CoV-2 in susceptible populations like people with diabetes,” said James Wagner, lead author and associate professor for the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation.
Ozone – a gas often referred to as “smog” – is known to intensify certain lung diseases, such as asthma and rhinitis, which are primarily upper airway diseases. But recent epidemiology suggests an association between high ozone concentrations and adverse health effects in the deep lung, which cause difficulty breathing due to lung restriction and stiffness.
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Environment Health Perspectives. Study Paper: