In light of the recent contamination of pork in Ireland (On Saturday, Ireland recalled all pork products because they were contaminated with high levels of PCBs. PCBs are polychlorinated biphenyls, highly toxic petroleum products. Yesterday, the Irish government reported that cattle were also testing positive for dioxins), I bring the unfortunate news that exposure to PBCs can increase the risk for diabetes.In 1978-1979, people in central Taiwan were poisoned by PCB-contaminated rice bran oil that they used for cooking. Between 1993 and 2003, researchers in Taiwan investigated the incidence of type 2 diabetes in these Yucheng ("oil disease") victims.
When compared to non-poisoned controls, women who were exposed to the dioxin-laced oil were twice as likely to have developed diabetes in the ensuing 24 years.
For women whose PCB exposure was greatest (as evidenced by the presence of chloracne - an acne-like skin disorder caused by exposure to toxic chlorinated chemicals), diabetes risk was five and a half times that of matched controls (hypertension risk was 3.5 times that of matched controls).
Men exposed to dioxin also experienced an increased risk for diabetes but it was not significant. The researchers speculated that "women tend to have a greater fat percentage than men, which might result in a longer half-life of these lipophilic compounds."
One of the study's authors, Dr. Yueliang Leon Guo, commented to Reuters Health on the implications of their findings:
"Guo said that since "everyone" has detectable PCB levels in his or her body, it's possible that exposure to such pollutants has helped feed the widespread rise in diabetes in recent decades."The authors advised:
"When planning treatments against diabetes, the body burden of PCBs and dioxins should be carefully considered, especially for women."The study appeared in the August, 2008 issue of Diabetes Care:
Increased Risk of Diabetes and Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Dioxins
