--- description: Household chemicals found in a wide range of products from carpets to cleaning products contribute to diabetes costing Europeans billions title: Diabetes Causes Include Household Chemicals Like PCBs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [toxins](/tag/toxins/) ## toxins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Common Chemicals Are Linked to Type-2 Diabetes: Study  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 26, 2016 10:30 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 26, 2016 10:30 PM CUT Common household chemicals found in a wide range of products from carpets to cleaning products can alter hormones and contribute to type-2 diabetes—likely costing Europeans billions of dollars annually, according to new [research](http://jech.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/jech-2016-208006 "undefined"). Scientists behind the study, published in the _Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health_, looked at data from seniors in the Swedish city of Uppsala on how exposure to chemicals known to disrupt the endocrine system, like phthalates, PCBs, pesticides and perfluoroalkyls, contributes to obesity and diabetes. Researchers used those findings to study the effects of chemical exposure on Europeans more broadly. A 25% reduction in exposure to the chemicals studied would result in a 13% drop in cases of diabetes among seniors, according to the research. That would mean 150,000 fewer cases of diabetes and a savings of nearly $5 billion dollars annually. **Read More:** [**That Plastic Container You Microwave In Could Be Super-Toxic**](http://time.com/4229503/plastic-in-microwave-is-it-safe/ "undefined") The study, led by New York University researcher Leonardo Trasande, joins a growing list of research demonstrating the devastating effects of chemicals humans are exposed to on a daily basis. [Endocrine disrupting](http://time.com/4493689/toxic-chemicals-house-cancer/ "undefined") chemicals are found in a wide array of everyday products including furniture, receipts and [canned food](http://time.com/4275601/bpa-replacement-canned-food/ "undefined"), to name a few, and can disrupt many different bodily functions. **Read More:** [You Asked: Can My Couch Give Me Cancer?](http://time.com/4462892/couch-cancer-flame-retardants/ "undefined") [Another paper](http://time.com/4533595/household-chemicals-bpa-health/ "undefined") published by Trasande last week suggests that household chemicals lead to $340 billion annually in treatment and lost productivity in the U.S. That figure is more than $100 billion lower in Europe, in large part to a different regulatory scheme, but significant problems remain. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4546786/diabetes-obesity-causes-chemicals/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4546786/diabetes-obesity-causes-chemicals/"},"headline":"These Common Chemicals Are Linked to Type-2 Diabetes: Study","datePublished":"2016-10-26T22:30:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:26:41.197Z","description":"And that's just one of the ways household chemicals may be harming human health","url":"https://time.com/4546786/diabetes-obesity-causes-chemicals/","keywords":["toxins"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/toxins/","name":"toxins"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4546786/diabetes-obesity-causes-chemicals/","name":"These Common Chemicals Are Linked to Type-2 Diabetes: Study"}}]}] ```