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Getting stuck in traffic isn't fun. Living in a high-traffic area can be noisy. And now new research finds that traffic-related pollution may be linked to a higher risk of a common disease in women. Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines, host of HealthDay TV. In a new study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers included nearly 1,800 women in their mid-50s who didn't have diabetes. The women lived in different parts of a German region with different levels of pollution. The researchers used several methods to measure the women's exposure to air pollution, and followed them for 16 years to track how many developed diabetes. As the women's exposure to particle pollution and nitrogen dioxide went up, so did their risk of diabetes. Living near a busy road was associated with more than a doubled risk of diabetes. Women who were exposed to more particle pollution had higher levels of a marker of inflammation in their bodies at the start of the study. According to the researchers, inflammation may serve as a link between pollution and diabetes risk. I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news that doctors are reading; health news that matters to you.
