giuliomagnifico OP t1_ixr6mv2 wrote on November 25, 2022 at 6:03 PM

Reply to comment by blimpyway in Nighttime artificial outdoor lighting was associated with impaired glucose control and 28% higher increased diabetes risk, a cross-sectional study on ~100k people in China showed by giuliomagnifico

Yes, this study doesn’t say that the light is the cause but that “where there’s is more artificial light there’s more diabetes”, not that the light is the cause of the diabetes. There could be lots of connected causes as you said.

Dont____Panic t1_ixvbls6 wrote on November 26, 2022 at 5:37 PM

I haven’t read it, but is it plausible form the data and controls that outdoor lights = denser city -> city lifestyle (nightlife, processed foods, stress/noise, etc) -> diabetes

If so, it seems less likely to me that this is some actual light impact and far more likely to be just a marker of lifestyle.

Edit: it said one of the controls was adjusting for “urban/rural area“. I have no idea what that means, but that is at least part of above. I’m unsure how a binary urban/rural is measurable. In any rural environment one that is more lit is going to be more densely populated. I think the same is probably true for urban areas.

Seems like maybe a control for population density might be more useful.