Association of diabetes mellitus and dioxins exposure : a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To review in the literature on the association between diabetes and background exposure of dioxins among general population. Method: Systematic review on studies the association of background dioxin exposure and diabetes among general population, published from January 1960 to July 2013 in PubMed, and from January 1979 to July 2013 in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Result: A total of nine articles (including seven cross-sectional studies, one longitudinal study and one cohort study) out of 111 articles from PubMed and 5 articles from CNKI were included in the systematic review. Five out of nine studies found a positive association between background exposure to dioxins or dioxins-like compounds and the risk of diabetes whilst two studies reported an inverse association between dioxins and insulin concentrations or IGF-I serum levels. Two studies reported positive significant relation of dioxins and diabetes in women but not in men. Discussion: Based on this systematic review, the association of background dioxins exposure and diabetes among general population remains unclear. Given the crosssection design of the studies, causal relation between dioxin exposure and diabetic risks cannot be drawn.