The association between blue light exposure and incidence of type 2 diabetes: A prospective study of UK biobank

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most common type of diabetes. However, research on the relationship between blue light exposure and diabetes development is limited. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between blue light exposure and T2D incidence and whether it is affected by sleep duration, physical activity, outdoor activity time, and genetic susceptibility. A total of 471,686 participants without diabetes were recruited from the UK Biobank cohort. T2D incidence was assessed using hospital inpatient records. Blue light exposure was calculated based on the time spent watching TV, using a computer, and playing computer games, which was determined using an online questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the survival relationship between blue light exposure and T2D, as well as the potential modification effects. A total of 18,738 cases of T2D were documented during the median follow-up of 13.04 years. After adjusting for potential confounders, the participants with heavy blue light exposure had a greater risk of T2D compared to those with mild blue light exposure (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12–1.23). A significant association between blue light exposure and T2D risk was observed among the participants with heavy physical activity (HR = 1.39, 95%CI: 1.25–1.55), healthy sleep habits (HR = 1.23, 95%CI: 1.10–1.36), higher outdoor activity time (HR = 1.14, 95%CI: 1.07–1.22), or high genetic susceptibility (HR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.14–1.35). However, this association became non-significant among the participants with low genetic susceptibility (HR = 1.05, 95%CI: 0.97–1.15). The present study showed that blue light exposure is associated with a greater risk of T2D independent of classical T2D risk factors.