The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing globally and poses a heavy burden on public health and socioeconomic development of all nations. Type 2 diabetes is a multifactorial disease and due to a combination of environmental and genetic risk factors. Many environmental risk factors contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, including lifestyles such as sedentary behaviour, diet, smoking and alcohol consumption, internal environmental factors such as inflammatory factors, adipocytokines and hepatocyte factors, external environmental factors such as environmental endocrine disruptors. This review summarizes current research efforts concentrated on the contributors for accelerated type 2 diabetes epidemic. It also provides a novel prospect for future researches.
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.