With more and more cities declaring air pollution emergencies, a new study is pointing to unexpected health consequences:  Researchers found Air pollution might raise a child's risk of diabetes.

The study, funded by the US National Institutes of Health and published in the journal Diabetes, is the first to connect air pollution and diabetes risk in children.

It focused on US Latino children living in areas with higher levels of air pollution, specifically: excess nitrogen dioxide and tiny air pollution particles that are generated by vehicles and power plants.  Those particulates could damage the pancreas - the organ that produces insulin.  And when that organ is damaged, it raises the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  By the time the children taking part in the study reached age 18, their insulin-creating pancreatic cells were 13 percent less efficient.  Their bodies also used insulin less efficiently.

It's not uncommon for children in these areas to have other other factors that lead to diabetes such as poor diet, but the study gives researchers a new direction to follow to protect children's health.  Pollution is already known to cause or worsen lung cancer, asthma, and cardiovascular damage.