Diabetes and the Environment

Why are diabetes rates increasing?

In 2006, my 23 month old toddler was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I remember it like it was yesterday. It's a terrifying experience. But he was not alone, far from it. Each year, an ever increasing number of children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. More and more children are also developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. The increasing rates are not limited to children; adults are also at risk. I myself developed diabetes as an adult in 1999, while pregnant with my older child. The doctors thought it was gestational diabetes, and then pre- type 2 diabetes, but later testing showed that I had type 1. My story illustrates how distinguishing the types of diabetes is not always easy.  

While my family probably has some genetic risk for type 1, it is clear that environmental factors also play a role in the development of the disease. For instance, in sets of identical twins in which one twin has type 1 diabetes, the other twin does not necessarily develop the disease (Hyttinen et al. 2003). Also, people who move from a country where type 1 is rare to a country where it is more common have an increased incidence of the disease (Feltbower et al. 2002). Genetics alone cannot account for the recent increasing incidence worldwide.

The increasing incidence in type 2 diabetes is generally attributed to increasing weight gain, a poor diet, and lack of exercise, all of which play a role, but are they the whole story? There is tons of scientific evidence that environmental chemicals can also contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes-- most people are probably not aware of this research. Did you know there are high rates of diabetes in Bangladesh and other areas of the world where people's drinking water is contaminated with arsenic? 

And what about type 1 diabetes? Do environmental chemicals contribute to that as well? How about gestational diabetes? What about diabetes complications? This website examines the evidence.