An Israeli study reveals the relationship between chronic exposure to ozone, socioeconomic status and type 2 diabetes morbidity, and offers solutions to improve public health
By Tomer Atir, Angle - Science and Environment News Agency
The ozone hole was one of the most famous environmental threats in the second half of the last century, and for about four decades, as a result from the Montreal Agreement and assuming that the global activity to prevent the emission of CFCs (the pollutants that caused it) will continue, he expected to close. Despite its name, it is not a hole in its literal meaning, but the depletion of the atmospheric layer consisting of the ozone gas (O3). It is stratospheric ozone, which means it is found in the middle layer of the atmosphere (at a height of 15-50 km above the earth's surface). It filters ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and thus helps to cool our planet. Compared to its good qualities somewhere above the clouds, ozone At ground level there are negative effects on human health And he hurts In the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) and among pregnant women, then it is associated with an increase in the risk of developing gestational diabetes. Research presented In the 52th Annual Conference on Science and the Environment Deals with the relationship between ozone, socio-economic status and morbidity in type 2 diabetes.
The new element
The team of researchers included graduates interface program Dr. Gal-Hagit Carso-Romano from Tel-Hai Academic College, Dr. Zohar Barnet-Yitzhaki, head of the research group for environmental and social sustainability at the Rupin Academic Center, and Dr. Adi Levy, head of the master's degree program in urban and rural sustainability at Ahva and Chevre College The Executive Committee of the Israeli Society for Ecology and Environmental Sciences In the study, the average concentrations of ozone at ground level were examined In 81 settlements in Israel, each of which has a population of 20,000 or more, type 2 diabetes and socio-economic indicators were also examined in those settlements. Although the relationship between economic status and health has been examined in the past, "ozone is the new element Here," Levy explains.
Ground level ozone is a byproduct of Air Pollution, and is formed in a photochemical reaction (a reaction in which light initiates the chemical process) of solar radiation with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Nitrogen oxides and VOCs are pollutants that are emitted from industrial activity and transport vehicles that have a particularly high concentration in metropolitan centers. Geographical variables are also important, and according to Levy, although ozone is created in the centers of large cities, it is also found in high concentrations in more distant areas such as the lowlands and the mountains, where polluted air arrives that has traveled a longer distance from the coastal plain. During this long journey, the polluted air is exposed to solar radiation and thus the concentration of ozone increases. The researchers found a correlation (correlation) between chronic exposure to ozone at ground level and type 2 diabetes, which suggests the possibility that ozone is also a cause of this type of disease.
It's not all sugar
The results of the study show that age and socioeconomic status have - as expected - an effect on the incidence of diabetes: in adults and in communities that are ranked lower in the CBS's socioeconomic index, a more widespread incidence of type 2 diabetes was found. A possible explanation for this is that weak populations are exposed to poor nutrition And unbalanced because they have difficulty purchasing fruits and vegetables that are relatively high in price for processed food Other illnesses are related to the level of sports activity, genetics and exposure to various chemicals from consumer products that disrupt the hormonal activity in the human body. Levy believes that the government has intervention tools that can direct and encourage the public to consume healthier food, such as taxation and providing subsidies for healthy food products instead of white bread and butter. "Many times in disadvantaged populations there is a high consumption of sugary drinks", and therefore Levy claims Abolition of the sugar tax Last year there was a measure that particularly harmed those disadvantaged populations whose health the tax was supposed to protect.
"Sweetened drinks are a health disaster," says Dr. Zohar Barnett-Yitzchaki. "They load the body with huge amounts of sugar, they have no nutritional benefit, and their regular consumption significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes." However, Levy and Barnett - Yitzchak believes that the way in which the tax in question was imposed in the past was done without broad agreement and without accompanying measures such as informing about the severe damage to the quality of life of Diabetic patients, which can lead to amputations, blindness and the consumption of drugs for many years, according to them, part of the opposition came because certain publics did not understand the purpose of taxation and perceived it as a sectoral measure against them and ultra-processed, high in salt and sugar." Levy points out that even out of economic logic, changes in the taxation system should be made in accordance with considerations health (which will make it possible to save many financial resources due to the loss of working days, medicines, days of hospitalization and premature death) and not harm them, as was done with the abolition of the sugar tax and the repeated threat of the Ministry of Finance to impose VAT on fruits and vegetables.
Treat the environmental causes of diabetes
Alongside the influence of socioeconomic status and taxation on sugar consumption, Levy emphasizes that the role of ozone and other pollutants as a risk to public health cannot be ignored. Therefore, he suggests also addressing environmental causes of morbidity, and describes in a positive light a trend of transition for electric vehicles private and public in Israel. However, even here, according to him, the health considerations for the decision-makers in the Treasury are considered secondary, when the constant increase of the purchase taxes on an electric vehicle and the imposition of a significant travel tax on its use, may stop and reverse the trend completely. "We will go backwards, we will have significantly higher air pollution in all the metropolises in Israel, and the result will be more morbidity and more mortality from heart, blood vessel and lung diseases." No response was received from the Ministry of Finance.
Diabetes has high economic costs
Levy points out that beyond the human suffering associated with an increase in the incidence of heart, blood vessel and lung diseases such as asthma in the elderly, infants and children, it also has very high economic costs. "Morbidity is not just the patients who suffer from it. It is about the loss of working days, expensive hospitalization days, expensive medications, and premature mortality that has a heavy, human and financial cost," he says. for example, in the health committee of the Knesset In 2021, the annual cost of treating diabetes and obesity (which is one of the risk factors for diabetes) was estimated at NIS 29 billion, and a forecast was presented that by 2030 the number of diabetics will double and reach one million people. According to the National Insurance, insured persons who have diabetes enter the health system almost double from insured persons without diabetes, creating a greater burden on the health system. If so, switching to electric-powered transportation and removing polluting diesel and gasoline vehicles from city centers can lead to savings in blood and blood. Levy mentions that Israel is located very high In the ranking of the incidence of diabetes among the OECD countries. To reach healthier places in the ranking, we must treat diabetes in a way that takes into account the health system, socio-economic issues and environmental considerations.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
