Experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) may cause type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas there is no fully convincing epidemiological evidence for such an association. In Sweden the most important source of POP exposure is fatty fish. We have assessed the association between serum levels of POPs and prevalence of diabetes in Swedish fishermen and their wives, with high consumption of fatty fish from the Baltic Sea.
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. lars.rylander@med.lu.se
