PCBs and Dioxin may cause Diabetes
| Several studies show a possible link between PCB exposure
and diabetes, through changes in the body’s use of sugar. PCBs may
cause diabetes, or make symptoms worse for diabetes sufferers. PCBs may
also interfere with medical efforts to stabilize blood sugars in diabetics.
Some studies show this may happen at low PCB exposure levels.
Diabetes is an auto-immune disorder of the pancreas closely linked with thyroid and liver function. PCBs damage the pancreas, liver, immune and thyroid systems, so it shouldn’t be surprising that diabetes could be one result. Certain PCBs are dioxin-like and travel together with dioxin; therefore, we’ve included several dioxin studies which show even stronger links to diabetes. |
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One study of a dioxin accident in Italy showed women were much more likely than men to develop diabetes. Unfortunately, human occupational studies of PCB exposures generally involve only male workers, which would miss impacts on women. It’s possible that women are more susceptible to diabetes at lower PCB exposure levels.
PCBs have also been linked to pancreatic cancer, another indication of PCB impacts on the function of the pancreas.
In recent years, the rate of diabetes has increased dramatically. Now, approximately 15.7 million people or 5.9% of the population in the United States have diabetes. Could widespread food contamination with PCBs and dioxin be contributing to the increase of this disease?
Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s pancreas does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Diabetes is a chronic disease with no cure. The cause is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors appear to play roles.
In a healthy person, the pancreas automatically sends just the right amount of insulin to the bloodstream to control the level of blood glucose (sugar). This level must be tightly regulated to maintain the chemical balance in the body. All diabetics must carefully watch whether they have too little or too much.
Too little blood glucose and the brain starves. The lack of insulin results in an inability to metabolize glucose, an impaired capacity to store glycogen (a form of glucose) in the liver, and impaired transport of glucose across cell membranes .
Too much blood glucose can lead to insulin shock --- diabetic ketoacidosis occurs (ketones build up in the blood) and this can cause fatal coma. Prolonged hyperglycemia (excess blood glucose) leads to increased protein and fat catabolism, a condition that can cause premature vascular degeneration (loss of blood circulation in the extremities) and atherosclerosis (heart disease, through hardening of the arteries).
In fat tissue, insulin aides in the cell uptake of glucose
and its conversion to fatty acids. At the same time, insulin inhibits the
breakdown of fatty acids to simpler compounds. In muscle, insulin facilitates
the transport of glucose into cells and stimulates its conversion to glycogen.
Insulin also increases protein synthesis in muscle. In the liver, insulin
facilitates glucose breakdown and its conversion to glycogen.
| More Details: The pancreas is a yellowish glandular
organ that secretes digestive enzymes and hormones. It is about 7 inches
long and 1.5 inches wide. It lies beneath the stomach and is connected
to the small intestine. Most of the pancreatic tissue consists of grapelike
clusters of cells that produce a clear fluid (pancreatic juice) that flows
into the intestine through a duct along with bile from the liver.
Pancreatic juice contains important digestive enzymes: tryptase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase, amylase, and lipase, that, along with intestinal enzymes (secretin and cholecystokinin), complete the digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. |
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The intestinal enzymes help to stimulate production of the pancreatic juices. Scattered among the enzyme-producing cells of the pancreas are small groups of endocrine cells, called the islets of Langerhans, that secrete two hormones, insulin and glucagon. The pancreatic islets contain several types of cells: alpha-2 cells, which produce the hormone glucagon; beta cells, which manufacture the hormone insulin; and alpha-1 cells, which produce the regulatory agent somatostatin. These hormones are secreted directly into the bloodstream, and together, they regulate the level of glucose in the blood. Insulin lowers the blood sugar level and increases the amount of glycogen (stored carbohydrate) in the liver; glucagon has the opposite action.
- Childhood Onset, or Type 1 Diabetes --- An auto-immune disease which destroys the beta cells in the pancreas, which stops insulin production. It occurs most often in children and young adults before age 18 who are siblings of people with type 1 diabetes and children of parents with type 1 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections for the rest of their lives in order to stay alive. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-10 percent of all diabetics.
- Adult Onset, Type 2 Diabetes --- A metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough, or properly use, insulin. It is the most common form of the disease. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95 percent of diabetes, and is nearing epidemic proportions. The following factors increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes: overweight, over age 45, lack of regular exercise, family history of diabetes, low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides, women who had gestational diabetes, and women who had a baby weighing more than 9 pounds. African-Americans, Latinos and Native Americans face a higher risk. The overall prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Native Americans is 12.2% vs. 5.2% in the general population. In some tribes, 50% of the population has diabetes.
- Gestational Diabetes --- develops in 2 –5 percent of all pregnancies but disappears when the pregnancy is over. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
- "Other" Diabetes --- Other specific types of diabetes result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses.
Serious Side Effects of
Diabetes
Many people first become aware they have diabetes when they develop one of its life-threatening complications:
- Blindness --- Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in people ages 20-74. Each year, from 12,000 to 24,000 people lose their sight because of diabetes.
- Kidney Disease --- Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, accounting for about 40% of new cases. In 1995, approximately 27,900 people initiated treatment for end stage renal disease (kidney failure) because of diabetes.
- Nerve Disease and Amputations --- About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which, in severe forms, can lead to lower limb amputations. In fact, diabetes is the most frequent cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputations. The risk of a leg amputation is 15-40 times greater for a person with diabetes. Each year, more than 56,000 amputations are performed among people with diabetes.
- Heart Disease and Stroke --- People with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease which is present in 75 percent of diabetes-related deaths (more than 77,000 deaths due to heart disease annually). And, they are 2 to 4 times more likely to suffer a stroke.
Frequent urination, unusual thirst, frequent infections, extreme hunger, blurred vision, unusual weight loss, cuts/bruises that are slow to heal, extreme fatigue, tingling/numbness in the hands or feet, irritability, recurring skin, gum or bladder infections. People with type 2 diabetes often have no symptoms (at first).
Approximately 15.7 million people or 5.9% of the population in the United States have diabetes. While an estimated 10.3 million have been diagnosed, another 5.4 million people are not aware that they have the disease. Each day, roughly 2,200 people are diagnosed with diabetes. About 798,000 people will be diagnosed this year.
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death (sixth-leading cause of death by disease) in the United States. Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to 198,140 deaths in 1996.
Diabetes is one of the most costly health problems in America. Health care and other costs directly related to diabetes treatment, as well as the costs of lost productivity, run $98 billion annually. That includes $44 billion in direct medical and treatment costs and $54 billion for indirect costs attributed to disability and mortality.
In 1997, total health expenditures incurred by people with diabetes amounted to $77.7 billion including health care costs not resulting from diabetes. The per capita costs of health care for people with diabetes amounted to $10,071, while health care costs for people without diabetes amounted to $2,699 in 1997.
Go to The Diabetes and PCB Studies
- The American Diabetes Association
- The Diabetes Research Institute --- describes link between lipids, cholesterol and diabete>
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