Women exposed to organic pollutants in early pregnancy have more than 4-times increased risk of gestational diabetes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/d-wet091415.php

Public Release: 15-Sep-2015
Women exposed to organic pollutants in early pregnancy have more than 4-times increased risk of gestational diabetes
Diabetologia

New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm shows that a 10-times increased exposure to organic pollutants in early pregnancy is associated with a 4.4 times increased risk of a pregnant woman developing gestational diabetes. The research is by Assistant Professor Leda Chatzi, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are a group of diverse substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides that are resistant to biodegradation and present almost everywhere in the environment. Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals such as POPs has been linked to type 2 diabetes and metabolic disturbances in epidemiological and animal studies

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