The study Association of long-term exposure to air pollution, the built environment and air temperature with the incidence of prediabetes phenotypes, and prediabetes remission and progression to type 2 diabetes: a longitudinal study in the KORA cohort, published in Diabetologia, examines the long-term association between environmental factors and the development – and, where applicable, the remission – of various prediabetes phenotypes. The analyses are based on long-term data from the KORA cohort in southern Germany. 

The results show that long-term exposure to air pollution and unfavourable characteristics of the built environment are associated with an increased risk of certain forms of prediabetes. Furthermore, higher levels of environmental exposure were associated with a lower likelihood of pre-diabetes regressing to normal glucose tolerance. The study thus highlights the importance of environmental factors in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

The article is freely available as an open-access publication (link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-026-06814-2).