Air purifiers may help ward off diabetes, says study
A new study has found that using an air purifier during sleep may help prevent blood sugar spikes in prediabetic people.
According to a study by researchers at NYU Langone Health, breathing cleaner air during sleep has shown a nearly eight-percent drop in daily blood sugar spikes and fewer sugar surges in the morning after breakfast.
Researchers also found that participants who used bedroom air filters showed an average of a 17% drop in total extra blood glucose. Maximum levels of glucose in the blood also decreased by 13%.
Over 150 prediabetic men and women without any known cholesterol buildup in their arteries participated in the study. According to NYU Langone Health, prediabetes is a condition that increases blood glucose levels above normal.
The condition is linked to a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease.
To carry out the study, researchers had half of the participants use real air filters while they slept for about a month. The air purifiers slashed harmful air particles in the bedroom by 36%. The other half of the participants used phony air filters that did nothing to clean the air.
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"Our findings suggest that cleaner air at home, especially in the bedroom, may help people with prediabetes keep their blood sugar steady and blunt morning spikes," said cardiologist Sharine L. Wittkopp, the study lead author.
"Installing HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters offers an easy, low-cost tool to help protect heart and metabolic health along with healthy eating, regular exercise, and prescribed medications," she added.
According to the study authors, this was the first study to test the effects of in-home HEPA filtration on adults' glucose control.
"Our results add to a growing body of evidence that poor air quality is a threat not only to lung health but to heart and metabolic health, as well," said Jonathan Newman, MD, MPH, the study's senior author.
According to him, the study's findings suggest that healthcare providers take into account indoor air quality when managing their patients' "cardiometabolic risk."
The same team that carried out this study is planning longer-term research to see if air filtration can either slow or completely stop prediabetes from progressing to diabetes. Researchers are also eager to see if this future study can determine if air filtration can also lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other symptoms of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome.
According to the 2023 National Nutrition Survey carried out by the Department of Science and Technology's Food and Nutrition Research Institute, two out of 10 Filipinos aged 20 to 59 years are prediabetic.
The survey also found that the incidence of prediabetes was higher among urban dwellers (8.8%), than among those living in the provinces (6.4%).
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