Remote effects of exposure to pesticides and the incidence of diabetes mellitus in rural areas

Abstract

Diabetogenic effect of organochlorine, organophosphorus, and copper-containing pesticides and. to a lesser degree, of carbamates, has been established. Diabetes developed in remote periods after exposure to these agents. The relationship between diabetes incidence and the type of pesticide and its concentration used at a certain territory is statistically unreliable, which may be explained by the multifactorial nature of this disease; the correlation is medium-expressed. A greater diabetogenic action was observed for type II diabetes; the ecological risk index, characterizing the tendency to increase of the morbidity, is more informative. The authors explain the diabetogenic effect of pesticides by their general toxic action.