14 DAY TRIAL // A study carried out by a team of scientists at the University of Lund in Sweden showed that people exposed to high levels of persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs), which are most likely to come from eating fatty fish such as salmon, might be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
POPs are by-products of industrial and agricultural processes and are widespread in the environment.
Researchers studied the incidence of type 2 diabetes in 196 fishermen, with an average age of 60, and 184 of their wives, with an average age of 64, and analyzed levels in their blood of the POP residue CB-153, and DDE, the main by-product of DDT.
Lars Rylander and his colleagues found out that 6% of the men and 5% of women who took part in the study have diabetes. Those that were found to have type 2 diabetes have significantly higher blood levels of both CB-153 and DDE than non-diabetics in the group of fisherman and fisherman's wives, which suggests high exposure to POPs.
But not all researchers agree with the above mentioned team, Dr Lars Hagmar telling the BBC News website that people should not worry about eating oily fish.
He said the fishermen and their wives in the study were exposed to exceptionally high levels of pollutants, because the Baltic coast had been heavily polluted with POPs from industry.