41 Million Americans Have Pre-Diabetes says US Government

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 29 Apr 2004 - 0:00 PST


The US government says that 41 million Americans have pre-diabetes, this means they have signs of what could later becomes diabetes type 2, the estimates are twice as high as previously thought.

The estimates have gone up because the criteria for diagnosing people has changed. Some research found that doctors were missing too many people who were passing through the net without being diagnosed properly (as pre-diabetics).

American Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said "These latest numbers show how urgent the problem really is. We need to help Americans take steps to prevent diabetes or we will risk being overwhelmed by the health and economic consequences of an ever-growing diabetes epidemic."

If you have the symptoms of pre-diabetes all you really have to do to reduce your risk of developing full blown diabetes is to eat more carefully and become more physically active.

Francine Kaufman, ex-president of the American Diabetes Association says the tragedy is that most people who are pre-diabetic do not know they are. Many only find out when the diabetes itself has surfaced.

Diabetes causes a myriad of health problems, such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, limb amputations and strokes. 18 million people in the USA have diabetes and 180,000 every year die as a result of it.

There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is something you are born with, your pancreas loses the ability to produce (enough) insulin. Type 2 is something you develop later in life, usually as a result of lifestyle - eating incorrectly (getting fat) and not being physically active enough. In type 2 your body eventually loses the ability to convert blood sugar into energy. Obesity and inactivity are the main causes of type 2 diabetes - as many Americans are overweight and do not do enough exercise type 2 diabetes is growing.

Developing type 2 diabetes is a gradual thing. Your glucose (sugar) blood levels gradually creep up. The reason the diagnosis criteria has changed is that many people were getting normal blood test results even though their glucose levels were rising - but not hitting diabetic levels yet.

Before, your blood sugar levels had to be above 110 milligrams per decilitre for alarm bells to start ringing. The tests were (are) given in the morning before you have anything to eat. The minimum has now been brought down to 110 milligrams per decilitre. If your test is now above 100 you will be classified as pre-diabetic.

40% of 40-70 year olds have a blood sugar count of 100-110, hence the large increase in the number of pre-diabetics in the USA.

Experts say that the decision to bring the miminum from 110 to 100 is not arbitrary. The risk of glucose-spurred heart disease began rising at lower levels than once thought.

The screening consists of two tests, one before food (early morning 'fasting') and a second test two hours after a glucose-rich drink. The second test remains the same as it used to be, levels between 140-199 are classed as pre-diabetic.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) says that anyone over the age of 45 who is overweight should do this test. If you are over 45 and of normal weight, you should discuss testing with your doctor to see if it is appropriate, they say.

If a younger person is overweight and has a relative who is diabetic, or has high cholesterol, or has high blood pressure, or had diabetes during pregnancy, or gave birth to a big baby (more than nine pounds) he/she should consider having the test done.

Tests are usually done at three year intervals. The more risk factors you have the smaller the intervals will be.

If you have a test and find you are a pre-diabetic, you should walk 30 minutes a day for five days of each week and lose 5-7% of your body weight. Research has proved that this works in preventing full-blown diabetes from developing.

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