Role of exposure to air pollutants in the development of type 1 diabetes before and after 5 yr of age.

Objective: To assess the role of ambient air pollutants in type 1 diabetes in children.

Design And Methods: Prediagnosis exposure to five air pollutants was studied in two subgroups with onset of type 1 diabetes before and after 5 yr of age, and two matched subgroups of healthy children. Zip codes and dates of residence from birth to diagnosis were used to obtain geographic- and time-specific air concentrations of SO(2), NO(2), ozone (O(3)), SO(4), and particulate matter < 10 micro m in diameter (PM(10)).