Diabetes Prevention
(Type 2
Diabetes)
Medical Author: Ruchi Mathur, M.D.
Medical Editor:
William C. Shiel, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR
Pre-Diabetes… Could You Have It?
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
 About 41 million Americans between the ages of 40 and 74
have "pre-diabetes." Prediabetes is a condition that, as the name implies, can
be considered an early, potentially reversible, stage in the development of Type II diabetes.
Pre-diabetes is sometimes called
impaired glucose tolerance or Impaired Fasting Glucose (IGT/IFG). In pre-diabetes, a person's blood sugar (glucose) levels are
slightly higher than the normal range, but not high enough for a true diagnosis of diabetes.
People with pre-diabetes have a significant risk of developing full-blown
diabetes; in the Diabetes Prevention Program study, about 11% of
people with pre-diabetes developed Type II diabetes each year during the
three-year follow-up time of the study.
Doctors generally use one of two different blood tests to
diagnose diabetes and pre-diabetes. One is called the fasting plasma glucose test (FPG), in which
a person's blood glucose level is measured first thing in the morning before
breakfast. The normal fasting blood glucose level is below 100 mg/dl. A person
with pre-diabetes has a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl.
If the blood glucose level rises to 126 mg/dl or above, a person is considered
to have diabetes.
Introduction to diabetes prevention
I'm pretty lucky in my office practice. I have friendly
patients who are usually already fairly well informed about their disease. They are also
generally willing to have discussions about therapies and options.
What I have noticed (much to my delight) is that there
are a growing number of patients coming to me for evaluation BEFORE they actually have
developed diabetes, wanting to know how to prevent it. Most of them have seen family
members with diabetes go through the process of diagnosis and management. As our
attitude towards disease changes, and we learn to focus on prevention, I have
more and more to discuss with these patients. Ultimately, I hope to see a
paradigm shift where our focus is primarily on prevention of chronic diseases
such as diabetes. For now, I hope this review provides some information to those
of you wanting to make healthy lifestyle changes, and that it encourages you to
open up a dialogue with your own doctor about diabetes prevention.
There are 2 major forms of diabetes - type 1 and type 2. This article focuses
specifically on type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes is virtually a pandemic
in the United States. This article reviews the risk factors for developing type
2 diabetes and covers key points regarding predicting who is at risk for type 2
diabetes (and what they can do about it).
What is type 2 diabetes?
While diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar
values, type 2 diabetes is also associated with a condition known as
insulin
resistance. While there is an element of impaired insulin secretion from the beta cells of the pancreas
especially when toxic levels of glucose occur (when
blood sugars are constantly
very high), the major defect is the body's inability to respond properly to
insulin.
Eventually, the pancreas is working it's best to produce
more and more insulin, but the body tissues (for example, muscle and fat
cells) do not
respond and become insensitive to the insulin. At this point, overt diabetes
occurs as the body is no longer able to effectively use its insulin to maintain
normal blood sugar levels. Over time, these high levels of sugar result in the
complications we see all too often in patients with diabetes.
Next: What are the risks factors for developing diabetes? »
- metformin, Glucophage - Drug information about metformin (Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Glumetza, Fortamet, Riomet), a drug used for treating type II diabetes in adults and children.
- Hemoglobin A1c Test - Hemoglobin A1c test is used as a standard tool to determine blood sugar control for patients with diabetes
- Diabetes - Learn about type 1 and 2 diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus) symptoms including increased urination, thirst, weight loss, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, skin infections, and blurred vision. Causes and diagnosis information is provided in the information.
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