HEPA Filters Cut Prediabetes Blood Sugar Spikes
Sleeping with a portable air filter cuts harmful indoor pollution and stabilizes large blood sugar spikes in adults with prediabetes, a new study reveals.
Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the clinical trial tested more than 150 men and women who had prediabetes but no known buildup of cholesterol in their arteries. Scientists assigned half the group to sleep with real bedroom air filters for about a month, while the other half used sham filters.
Real Filters Lower Particle Levels
The active filters cut levels of tiny, harmful air particles in bedrooms by 36 percent. In turn, that cleaner air dropped daily blood sugar swings by nearly 8 percent and reduced morning sugar surges after breakfast.
Total extra glucose in the blood after eating breakfast fell by about 17 percent on average. Peak levels following breakfast decreased by 13 percent.
“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 study lead author and cardiologist Sharine L. Wittkopp, MD, PhD, who serves as a clinical instructor in the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology within NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine.
“Installing HEPA filters offers an easy, low cost tool to help protect heart and metabolic health along with healthy eating, regular exercise, and prescribed medications.”
Air Pollution Increases Metabolic Health Risks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that nearly half of US adults have prediabetes. Past studies have connected the condition to pollutants from vehicle exhaust, wildfires, and power plant emissions.
When inhaled, these microscopic particles enter the lungs and bloodstream. Researchers presented these findings November 8 at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions.
“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,” commented Jonathan Newman, MD, MPH, the study’s senior author and an associate professor in the Department of Medicine’s Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“These findings support broader efforts to reduce air pollution and suggest that healthcare providers should consider indoor air quality when helping patients manage their cardiometabolic risk.”
Future investigations are already planned by the group to determine if air cleaning can prevent or delay the transition from prediabetes to diabetes, as Dr. Newman pointed out.
They also want to test if it lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome. He cautioned that the findings may not apply to people who already have diabetes or to residents in other regions exposed to different types of pollution.
