Panel Study in Beijing: The Effects of PM2.5 in Pre-diabetic Populations

Background - Multiple research studies have demonstrated consistent associations between particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) and relevant health endpoints of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome (MS). Patients with pre-diabetes symptoms constitute a significant population who not only have the risk of progressing to diabetes but also are susceptible to metabolic syndrome. Evidence suggests that response to acute PM2.5 exposure could be assessed by monitoring metabolic clinical indices.

Method – This Beijing panel study had a total of 114 subjects divided equally into two groups: pre-diabetic and healthy groups. Inter-group differences in clinical indices (blood pressure, fasting blood glucose) responding to pre-24 hours PM2.5 exposure were assessed using mixed-effects linear regression models.

Results – With a limited sample size and partial data available to the current analysis, this study reveals no significant association of PM2.5 with fasting blood glucose or blood pressure in both healthy and pre-diabetic populations.

Conclusions – Our data did not provide evidence that PM2.5 exposure has significant association with blood pressure or fasting blood glucose. Moreover, no significant response differences were observed existed between the pre-diabetic population and the healthy population.