Pre-diabetics can be divided into two groups – adolescents who are obese and people between 35 and 50.
Mumbai: Rearch now shows it is possible to delay or even avoid the onset of diabetes.
This may become possible if a person is diagnosed with pre-diabetes, a condition where a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes.
In a new survey to be made public in the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) seminar in Copenhagen next week, diabetologists will reveal new findings about pre-diabetes.
“This year, one of the our biggest findings is that medication during pre-diabetes can be life-saving, as it has the potential to protect the patient from cardiovascular disease, which is a direct impact of diabetes,” said Shashank Joshi, consultant endocrine and metabolic physician, Lilavati Hospital.
“Pre-diabetes actually means that you are more than likely to develop diabetes and may already be experiencing the adverse health effects of this serious condition,” said Dr Joshi. “However, there is hope. We now know that people with pre-diabetes can delay or prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes through drugs and lifestyle changes,” he added.
A study by Western India Diabetes Association shows that one in ten to 12 persons in Mumbai is a diabetic. By 2010, one in every five persons in Mumbai will be a diabetic.
However, most people don’t take it seriously when their blood glucose levels are abnormal, say diabetologists, the reason being that diabetes is often a silent, painless disease.
“Diabetics who suffer from heart attacks are unaware that they have suffered a heart attack,” said Dr Joshi.
“And if diabetes is an asymptomatic disease, then pre-diabetes is even more asymptomatic. I see at least four patients with pre-diabetes, who refuse to accept it and even go back to their normal life,” said Dr Joshi.
About 50 per cent of people with pre-diabetes come with heart problems. Take for instance 22-year-old Ashish Kumar (name changed), who was admitted to a hospital after a heart attack.
“Tests showed that my sugar levels were abnormal. But I was not convinced that I had pre-diabetes, as there were no other symptoms,” said
Kumar.
A simple blood sugar test such as the fasting plasma glucose test, which measures a person’s blood sugar first thing in the morning before eating, can reveal pre-diabetes.
“A fasting sugar of below 98 is considered normal, whereas anything above 126 is diagnosed as diabetes. A fasting blood glucose of between 100 to 125 is diagnosed as pre-diabetes,” said Dr Joshi.
“In a pre diabetic, the lipid profile also shows low HDL (good cholesterol) and high triglyceride levels,” he added.
Apart from this, one should also undergo periodic tests if there is a history of diabetes in one’s family. Or if the waist circumference is over 80 cm (for women) or over 90 cm (for men).
Pre-diabetics can be divided into two groups – adolescents who are obese and people between 35 and 50.
“This is a crucial period in anyone’s life, and if one can easily avoid a disease like diabetes which encumbers a person throughout his life, then why not do it?” asks Dr Joshi.
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