Long term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes; a new study says. There’s a greater risk for the people with impaired glucose metabolism. Such exposure to air -pollution creates a higher risk of developing insulin resistance as a pre-diabetic state of type 2 diabetes.

"Whether the disease becomes manifest and when this occurs is not only due to lifestyle or genetic factors, but also due to traffic-related air pollution," said Professor Annette Peters, director of the Institute of Epidemiology in Germany.

For the current study, the data of nearly 3,000 participants of the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) was analysed.

"The results revealed that people who already have an impaired glucose metabolism, so-called pre-diabetic individuals, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution," said Dr Kathrin Wolf, lead author of the study.

The reasearch was published in journal diabetes.