New Delhi

Usingportable filters which clean particulate matter from air, or air purifiers, during sleep may help improve blood sugar control among prediabetics, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the American Heart Journal, found that using portable filters to reduce exposure to air pollution during sleep stabilised large spikes in blood sugar experienced by people with prediabetes, a condition in which sugar or glucose levels are higher than normal.

Researchers led by those at New York University, US, assessed more than 150 men and women with prediabetes who did not have any known buildup of cholesterol in their arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis.

Prediabetes raises the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and large swings in blood sugar during the day are tied to worsening disease.

Air pollution has been linked to both prediabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, it is unclear whether using high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters at home could improve blood sugar control, the researchers said.

HEPA filtration systems can remove more than 99 per cent of airborne particles sized 0.3 microns in diameter. "Our findings suggest that (a) cleaner air at home, especially in the bedroom, may help people with prediabetes keep their blood sugar steady and blunt morning spikes," lead author and cardiologist Sharine L. Wittkopp, a clinical instructor in New York University's school of medicine's department of medicine and its division of cardiology, said.

"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," Wittkopp said.

Half the study participants slept with real bedroom air filters for about a month, while the other half used sham filters that did not clean air. The real filters cut levels of tiny, harmful air particles by 36 per cent, the researchers said.