Diabetes

Cumulative exposure to heavy metals including mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic have an association with diabetes. Particularly exposure to multiple heavy metals is associated with diabetes.

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ASSOCIATIONS OF CUMULATIVE EXPOSURE TO HEAVY METAL MIXTURES WITH OBESITY AND ITS COMORBIDITIES AMONG U.S. ADULTS IN NHANES 2003-2014

Our study suggests that cumulative exposure to heavy metals as mixtures is associated with obesity and its related chronic conditions such as hypertension and T2DM. Additional research is needed to confirm these findings in longitudinal settings.
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Wang, Xin et al. “Associations of cumulative exposure to heavy metal mixtures with obesity and its comorbidities among U.S. adults in NHANES 2003-2014.” Environment international vol. 121,Pt 1 (2018): 683-694. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.09.035

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ROLE OF HEAVY METALS IN DIABETES: MECHANISMS AND TREATMENT STRATEGIES

Cadmium and arsenic not only spread widely in our atmosphere but are also linked to a wide range of health hazards. These are primarily accumulated in the liver, kidney, and pancreas once they reach the human body, where they have deleterious effects on the metabolism of glucose and its association with other metabolic pathways, particularly glycolysis, glycogenesis, and gluconeogenesis, by altering and impairing the specific activity of major enzymes. Impairment of hepatic glucose homeostasis plays a crucial role in diabetes mellitus pathogenesis. 
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Javaid, Anam et al. “Role of Heavy Metals in Diabetes: Mechanisms and Treatment Strategies.” Critical reviews in eukaryotic gene expression vol. 31,3 (2021): 65-80. doi:10.1615/CritRevEukaryotGeneExpr.2021037971

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ADIPOTROPIC EFFECTS OF HEAVY METALS AND THEIR POTENTIAL ROLE IN OBESITY

Recent findings demonstrated the association between heavy metal exposure and prevalence of obesity. Exposure to markers of mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic as well as metal mixture were found to be correlated with anthropometric and metabolic parameters in obesity and metabolic syndrome.
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Tinkov, Alexey A et al. “Adipotropic effects of heavy metals and their potential role in obesity.” Faculty reviews vol. 10 32. 26 Mar. 2021, doi:10.12703/r/10-32