A new national cross-sectional study from China reveals that high levels of outdoor artificial light exposure at night are significantly associated with markers of diabetes and impaired glucose homeostasis.
They found that exposure to artificial light at night significantly increased diabetes prevalence by 7% for each quintile (prevalence). [PR], 1.07), reported by Dr. Ruizhi Zheng, Faculty of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and colleagues. The researchers found that people living in areas with the most light exposure at night had a 28% higher prevalence of diabetes (PR 1.28) than those living in the least exposed areas.
research is publish online November 14th Diabetes.
Previous animal studies have shown that exposure to light at night can disrupt circadian rhythms and affect glucose homeostasis, the researchers note. Other studies have shown that chronic exposure to moderate indoor light while sleeping increases the prevalence of diabetes in older adults compared to those sleeping in dimly lit environments. The authors add
“Our findings contribute to a growing body of literature suggesting that nighttime artificial light is harmful to health, and suggest that nighttime artificial light may be a potential new risk factor for diabetes.” shows,” they wrote.
“Given the coexistence of the diabetes epidemic and the widespread effects of nighttime light pollution, a positive association is that countries and governments develop effective prevention and intervention policies to protect people from the adverse health effects of light pollution. at night,” the study authors stressed.
Dr Gareth Nye, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chester, UK, said that previous research has found links between metabolic conditions such as diabetes and artificial light at night, and that most theories about the cause are based on the body’s natural Agreed that the focus is on circadian rhythms. cycle.
He said that the body clock regulates various bodily processes such as metabolism and hormone synthesis.It also affects sleep patterns by interfering with hormone synthesis. melatoninit is essential for a good night’s sleep.
However, he stressed that more research is needed before the link can be considered conclusive.
Outdoor night light exposure related to fasting blood sugar, A1c
Chinese researchers set out to approximate the relationship between diabetes prevalence and glucose homeostasis through chronic exposure to outdoor light at night.
They evaluated 98,658 participants in the Chinese NCD Surveillance Study across 162 centers. The average age of participants he was 42.7 years. Women made up her 49.2% of the study cohort.
Diabetes was defined based on the American Diabetes Association criteria. Satellite data were used to determine nocturnal outdoor light exposure in 2010. Associations between nocturnal light exposure and indicators of glucose homeostasis were investigated.
Prevalence was calculated and included sex, age, smoking status, education, body mass index, physical activity, household income, family history of diabetes, rural/urban area, alcohol consumption, and use of lipid-lowering prescription drugs (mainly statins). was adjusted for ) or antihypertensives.
Findings showed that nighttime outdoor light exposure levels were positively correlated with 2-hour and fasting blood glucose levels. A1cWhen insulin resistance (Measured using homeostasis model evaluation [HOMA]), but is negatively associated with β-cell function (measured using HOMA).
Needs more research
“We caution against causal interpretation of our findings and call for further research involving direct measurements of individual exposure to nocturnal light,” the researchers conclude.
I agreed.
“One of the problems with this study is that the areas with the highest outdoor artificial light levels are likely to be in urban areas or large cities. known for a long time. obesity through increased access to high-fat, convenience foods, lower physical activity levels due to transportation links, and reduced social activity. There was,” he pointed out.
The study uses a large dataset, which he observed generally improves the reliability of the data.
However, “it is also unclear whether the population here was selected for this study or was analyzed retrospectively, which raises reliability issues. is similar to the selection of
Ultimately, he concluded, there was no corroborative evidence for this association, and until further research was conducted to directly link light exposure and diabetes in humans, “the association will remain just that.”
DiabetesPublished online on November 14, 2022. Overview
Ashley Lyles is an award-winning medical journalist.she graduated from new york university‘■ Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Programs. Previously, I studied professional writing at Michigan State University. Her work has gone to Honduras, Cambodia, France, Ghana and has been featured in The New York Times Daily 360, PBS NewsHour, The Huffington Post, Undark, The Root, Psychology Today, Insider, Tonic (by Health Vice) and other publications. Inside.
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