A University of Alberta researcher believes obese humans face same dangers from diesel exhaust and coal emissions.
Obese individuals at risk of diabetes are in danger of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, when exposed to pollution from diesel exhaust or power plant emissions, says a University of Alberta researcher who is sounding the alarm in a study offering the first direct proof of that relationship.
"There is a growing body of evidence that exposure to fine particulate matter--the small stuff you can't see--correlates to diseases in the public," says Dr. Jim Russell, a researcher at the U of A's Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition. "Our research helps connect the dots and get at the mechanisms that put people at risk. It has major implications for public health and environmental policy."
The growing pandemic of obesity, pre-diabetic metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes is creating a new generation of cardiovascular dysfunction--such as heart disease or stroke--that is increasingly influenced by the external environment. Russell's research team--including the U of A's Dr. Spencer Proctor and Sandra Kelly, collaborating with Dr. Kevin Dreher of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--specifically studied fine particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter.
They compared rats that are obese and insulin resistant from a unique strain Russell developed in his lab in 1978--and come with all the regular cardiovascular complications--with lean and metabolically normal rats. In terms of metabolism and heart disease, the animals, says Russell, "behave in every respect like your obese human."