Pre-Diabetes
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be classified as full-blown diabetes. There are generally no symptoms; a diagnosis is based on the results of a blood test. The higher levels of blood sugar associated with prediabetes can still damage your heart and circulatory system, however, greatly increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for prediabetes include being overweight or obese; having high blood pressure or a family member with type 2 diabetes; having a history of gestational diabetes (high blood sugar during pregnancy); or having given birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds. African Americans, Latino/Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Asian or Pacific Islander Americans have twice the risk of Caucasians for developing type 2 diabetes.
Although, unfortunately, most people with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes, you can delay or prevent the condition by controlling your diet and increasing your level of exercise.
Statistics
1. About 41 million Americans have prediabetes.
2. Age, overweight and lack of physical activity are key risk factors for prediabetes.
3. Most people with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years. They can delay or prevent the disease, though, by losing 5 to 7 percent of their body weight and by improving their diet, and exercising most days of the week.
4. If you have prediabetes, you have potentially double the risk of heart disease, triple the risk of high blood pressure, and five times the risk of dying from a heart attack. Researchers also believe there may be a link between high blood sugar and some forms of cancer.
Risk factors for prediabetes are the same as those for type 2 diabetes. They include:
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Being older than 45 (being over 65 raises your risk even higher)
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Being overweight or obese (with a BMI of 30 or more)
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Exercising seldom or not at all
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Having a family member with type 2 diabetes
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Having a history of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)
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Giving birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds
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Having low HDL cholesterol (less than 35) and high triglycerides (more than 250), a type of fat in the blood
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Having high blood pressure (140/90 or above)
People of certain races or ethnic groups--African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander American--have twice the risk of Caucasians for developing type 2 diabetes.
Symptoms
People with prediabetes most often have no symptoms. The only way to know for sure you have it is to get a blood test that checks for either impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Both conditions point to prediabetes.
Impaired fasting glucose is when your fasting blood sugar level is 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) after an overnight fast. Blood is drawn from your vein and then sent to a lab for testing. Impaired glucose tolerance is when your blood sugar level is 140 to 199 mg/dL after what is called an oral glucose tolerance test. You will be asked to drink a sugary liquid and your blood will be tested two hours later.
You should have your blood glucose levels tested if you are older than 45, particularly if you have other risk factors for prediabetes such as obesity and a low level of physical activity.
If you have prediabetes and are having symptoms such as unusual thirst and a need to urinate frequently, you may already have type 2 diabetes.
