Environmental Diabetogens: How Everyday Environmental Pollutants May Be Contributing to the Global Diabetes Epidemic
D iabetes mellitus has emerged as one of the most pressing global public health challenges of the twenty-first century. Its increasing prevalence is commonly attributed to familiar risk factors such as unhealthy dietary patterns, excessive calorie consumption, obesity, physical inactivity, genetic susceptibility, and population ageing. Although these factors are fundamental to understanding the disease, they may not tell the whole story. An increasingly important area of scientific investigation suggests that the environment in which people live, work, eat and grow may also influence their susceptibility to metabolic disorders. The scale of the problem is considerable. According to the International Diabetes Federation's 2025 Diabetes Atlas, approximately 589 million adults aged 20–79 years were living with diabetes worldwide in 2024. This number is projected to increase to approximately 853 million by 2050. The figures represent a growing burden on healthcare systems, economies, f...