Metabolite of the pesticide DDT and incident type 2 diabetes in urban India.

•First study of the association between plasma DDE concentration and incident diabetes in India•Strengths include prospective study design, direct measurement of p,p-DDE, and well-characterised metabolic status•Levels of p,p’-DDE in Delhi are exceptionally high; levels are lower in the southern, coastal city of Chennai•We did not observe a significant association between p,p-DDE and incident type 2 diabetes•BMI was much lower than reported in previous studies; more research is needed on how the DDE-diabetes relationship changes over time in developing countries