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According to the Centers for Disease Control, 18.8 million people in the United States had diagnosed diabetes and another 7 million had undiagnosed diabetes. These numbers increased significantly over the 10-year period prior. Why such an increase? Part of the reason is the lack of awareness of prediabetes, the condition that often precedes the onset of diabetes. This article with discuss prediabetes and its prevalence, as well as how people can complete health screening at home to prevent prediabetes from becoming diabetes.

What is prediabetes?

Prediabetes is a condition in which the blood glucose levels are above normal, but not yet to the levels where diabetes is diagnosed. The basic test for diabetes is called a fasting blood glucose test. To conduct this test, a person fasts for 8 hours, then has blood drawn. The level of glucose, or sugar, is tested. Blood sugar levels are measured as follows:

Normal blood sugar – less than 100

Prediabetes – 100 to 125

Diabetes – 126 or higher

As the numbers show, prediabetes is the area between normal and fully developed diabetes. A diagnosis of prediabetes does not mean that the person will develop diabetes, but it does mean that the risk of developing the disease is much greater than if blood sugar levels are within normal range.

How common is prediabetes?

This condition is more common than people realize. A study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine in April 2016 looked at the prevalence of prediabetes in adults aged 45 and over. Data from the 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was used to look at visits by adults age 45 and over who did not have a diagnosis of diabetes but did have a blood sugar test within 90 days of the visit. Blood test results were categorized into three groups: normal, prediabetes, and diabetes.

The results of the study found that 54.6% of the adults in the study had normal blood sugar levels, 33.6% had prediabetes, and 11.9% had diabetes. Of the adults with blood sugar levels consistent with prediabetes, so few were diagnosed with the condition that the researchers could not make a population estimate based on the number. The researchers could determine that possible treatment for the condition was present in 23% of the medical records of people with diagnosed and undiagnosed prediabetes, with the most common form of treatment begin lifestyle changes. The researchers concluded that opportunities to prevent diabetes are being missed because the condition of prediabetes is not being detected early. Approaches to medical care related to this condition need to be reviewed to improve disease prevention.

Why is prediabetes often overlooked?

The number of people with blood sugar levels in the prediabetes range is startling and points out the significant increase in the number of cases of prediabetes and diabetes in recent years. People who have the condition usually don’t know it because it has no or few symptoms. Doctors may not test for it if there are no symptoms present to indicate the need for a test, so they do not bring the possibility of prediabetes to the attention of their patients. Some increase in awareness of prediabetes has occurred with the implementation of wellness programs by insurance companies who require blood work to screen for diabetes, but this requirement is not consistent throughout the country. Because of the lack of attention to the problem and inconsistency among providers to screen for prediabetes, chances to prevent diabetes through lifestyle change are being missed and the frequency of prediabetes developing into diabetes is increasing.

What can be done to prevent diabetes?

The best way to prevent diabetes is to change to a healthy style of living. Changes in lifestyle to control blood sugar include eating healthy foods such as vegetables and whole grains, reducing the amount of sugar and starchy foods in the diet, getting more exercise, and losing some weight for those who are overweight. People who have prediabetes or are at risk for developing it by being over age 45, having a family history of diabetes, or having other chronic health conditions, should have their blood sugar tested frequently. These people should clarify with their doctors what their blood sugar levels indicate regarding their own health and whether they should make lifestyle changes to control blood sugar levels.

Of course, people should also monitor health at home. Some doctors will recommend that people with prediabetes obtain blood sugar testing kits and monitor their own blood sugar levels periodically. Even if a person does not monitor blood sugar at home, other health factors such as blood pressure and variation in heart rate can be easily tracked through an online health measurement program. Changes in these health factors can help reveal hidden diseases such as diabetes and can help a person gain personal health control before it is too late.

HomeLab by Quantihealth offers home health testing equipment and an online tracking program to help people maintain a running record of health status. For more information or to sign up, visit www.thequantihealth.com.

Tags: disease prevention, health screening at home, hidden diseases, health status, online health measurement.