Prediabetes risk factors: Prediabetes – Symptoms and causes
Prediabetes – Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
What Is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 96 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 80% don’t know they have it. Prediabetes puts you at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The good news is that if you have prediabetes, the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help you make lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.
What Causes Prediabetes?
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas that acts like a key to let blood sugar into cells for use as energy. If you have prediabetes, the cells in your body don’t respond normally to insulin. Your pancreas makes more insulin to try to get cells to respond. Eventually your pancreas can’t keep up, and your blood sugar rises, setting the stage for prediabetes—and type 2 diabetes down the road.
Signs & Symptoms
You can have prediabetes for years but have no clear symptoms, so it often goes undetected until serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes show up. It’s important to talk to your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested if you have any of the risk factors for prediabetes, which include:
The good news: prediabetes can be reversed. Watch Mike’s story.
- Being overweight
- Being 45 years or older
- Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
- Being physically active less than 3 times a week
- Ever having gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or giving birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
- Having polycystic ovary syndrome
Race and ethnicity are also a factor: African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and some Asian Americans are at higher risk.
Simple Blood Sugar Test
You can get a simple blood sugar test to find out if you have prediabetes.
Ask your doctor if you should be tested.
Preventing Type 2 Diabetes
If you have prediabetes, losing a small amount of weight if you’re overweight and getting regular physical activity can lower your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. A small amount of weight loss means around 5% to 7% of your body weight, just 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person. Regular physical activity means getting at least 150 minutes a week of brisk walking or a similar activity. That’s just 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
Imagine: You and the National Diabetes Prevention Program. Watch the video!
A lifestyle change program offered through the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help you make those changes—and make them stick. Through the program, you can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 58% (71% if you’re over age 60). Highlights include:
- Working with a trained coach to make realistic, lasting lifestyle changes.
- Discovering how to eat healthy and add more physical activity into your day.
- Finding out how to manage stress, stay motivated, and solve problems that can slow your progress.
- Getting support from people with similar goals and challenges.
Ask your doctor or nurse if there’s a CDC-recognized National Diabetes Prevention Program offered in your community or find one here. The best time to prevent type 2 diabetes is now.
Diabetes Risk Factors | CDC
Know the risk factors for different types of diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an immune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not as clear as for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Known risk factors include:
- Family history: Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 1 diabetes.
- Age: You can get type 1 diabetes at any age, but it usually develops in children, teens, or young adults.
In the United States, White people are more likely to develop type 1 diabetes than African American and Hispanic or Latino people.
Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes
You’re at risk for type 2 diabetes if you:
- Have prediabetes.
- Are overweight.
- Are 45 years or older.
- Have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes.
- Are physically active less than 3 times a week.
- Have ever had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed over 9 pounds.
- Are an African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native person. Some Pacific Islanders and Asian American people are also at higher risk.
If you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease you may also be at risk for type 2 diabetes.
You can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes with proven lifestyle changes. These include losing weight if you’re overweight, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular physical activity.
Prediabetes
You’re at risk for prediabetes if you:
- Are overweight.
- Are 45 years or older.
- Have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes.
- Are physically active less than 3 times a week.
- Have ever had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed over 9 pounds.
- Are an African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native person. Some Pacific Islander and Asian American people are also at higher risk.
You can prevent or reverse prediabetes with proven lifestyle changes. These include losing weight if you’re overweight, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular physical activity. The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help you make healthy changes that have lasting results.
Gestational Diabetes
You’re at risk for gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant) if you:
- Had gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy.
- Have given birth to a baby who weighed over 9 pounds.
- Are overweight.
- Are more than 25 years old.
- Have a family history of type 2 diabetes.
- Have a hormone disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
- Are an African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander person.
Gestational diabetes usually goes away after you give birth, but increases your risk for type 2 diabetes. Your baby is more likely to have obesity as a child or teen, and to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
Before you get pregnant, you may be able to prevent gestational diabetes with lifestyle changes. These include losing weight if you’re overweight, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular physical activity.
- Diabetes and Men
- Diabetes and Women
- Hispanic or Latino People and Type 2 Diabetes
- Diabetes and Asian Americans
- PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and Diabetes
Prediabetes – how to spot and avoid diabetes About 400 million people worldwide have type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes – what is it? Prediabetes is the work of the body with already existing disorders of carbohydrate metabolism. A person already has an elevated blood sugar level, reduced production of insulin by the pancreas, but the violations are not so pronounced and permanent as to speak of diabetes mellitus. In fact, prediabetes is an intermediate state between normal and type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is increasingly referred to as an independent disease. And this is a signal that in the future you may encounter diabetes and its complications: heart failure, heart attack, stroke, decreased vision, amputation of limbs. When carbohydrate metabolism is disturbed, the penetration of glucose into cells worsens. You can talk about prediabetes if you have the following indicators: the level of glycated hemoglobin is 6–6.4%; fasting blood glucose – 5.6 to 6.0 mmol/l; oral glucose tolerance test (analysis done 2 hours after glucose ingestion) – result from 7.8 to 11.1 mmol / l. Reasons Risk factors for the development of prediabetes (and type 2 diabetes mellitus itself in the future): excess weight (especially in the abdominal region) – this reduces the sensitivity of tissues to the action of insulin; excess in the diet of red, fatty, processed meats, sugary drinks, pastries, confectionery; food deficient in fruits and vegetables, whole grains; sedentary lifestyle; heredity – cases of diabetes in close relatives; over 45 years of age; polycystic ovary syndrome and certain other endocrine diseases; past gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy), the birth of large children weighing more than 4. liver diseases, gouty arthritis and some others. Symptoms of prediabetes A dangerous feature of prediabetes, like type 2 diabetes, is an inconspicuous development. Often, everything passes without obvious clinical symptoms, with a fairly good state of health. The most noticeable symptoms: lack of energy, strength for any business in the normal mode of work and rest; fatigue that comes on quickly; prolonged healing of skin wounds; frequent thirst for no particular reason; fast feeling of hunger; dry skin, appearance of hyperpigmentation. For the timely detection of prediabetes, it is important not only to focus on your well-being, but also to periodically take tests to assess blood sugar levels. This should be done annually for those at risk, and at least once every three years for people over 45 years old. Treatment A key role in the treatment of prediabetes is in the patient himself. to normalize the diet — stick to the normal calorie content, make the diet balanced, with a high content of useful products; normalize weight; do not forget about physical activity – even 20 minutes of daily exercise will make an important contribution to health. How effective are these common truths? One US study showed that patients who lost just 10% of their body weight and engaged in small daily workouts reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58%. Great results! Your endocrinologist will give you personalized advice on what to do to treat prediabetes. It is possible to talk about drug correction after diagnosis and finding out the causes of violations. |
Doctors around the world are talking literally about the epidemic of diabetes and that the number of patients will grow. The most effective thing you can do to stay healthy is to take the time to prevent disease and reduce risk factors. And this is especially important for people with prediabetes.
It accumulates in the blood, which is reflected in the results of laboratory tests.
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You can get better with lifestyle changes. It is necessary: Type 2 diabetes risk factors
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- Type 2 diabetes risk factors
Factors that can stimulate the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are divided into those that cannot be changed (non-modifiable) and those that can be influenced (modifiable).
The former include:
- Genetic predisposition. If both parents of a child have type 2 diabetes, then the probability of developing the disease in him is from 60 to 100%. If one of the parents, then the risk of developing the disease is reduced to 30-80%.
- Age. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases with age.
- Ethnicity: Asians, Hispanics, Africans are at greater risk than other groups.
Other risk groups:
- overweight women during pregnancy;
- women with impaired carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy;
- women who gave birth to children weighing 4 kg or more;
- women who had spontaneous abortions, birth defects in children and other complications.
Eight risk factors for type 2 diabetes that can be influenced to reduce the likelihood of the disease:
- Body weight. Overweight or obese people have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people of normal weight. You can determine the likelihood of developing the disease by calculating BMI (body mass index). To do this, you need to divide the mass in kilograms by the height, recorded in meters, squared. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is normal. The higher the BMI, the higher the risk of the disease. So with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 (overweight) the risk of getting sick is doubled, and with a BMI of 30 to 34.9, which corresponds to grade 1 obesity, the same risk of developing type 2 diabetes is already 5 times higher. If you add at least one non-modifiable factor to it, for example, heredity, then it will be quite difficult to avoid diabetes.
- Nutrition. High calorie content, large amounts of easily digestible carbohydrates and saturated fats of animal origin, “fast food” are features of the modern diet that are becoming life-threatening. They can lead not only to diabetes, but also to hypertension, strokes, heart attacks. It is known, for example, that daily consumption of sugary carbonated drinks increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 83%1.
- Insufficient physical activity. About 70% of men and 86% of women lead an inactive lifestyle, which increases the likelihood of disease by 3 times, compared with people who move enough.
- Stress. Chronic negative experiences can provoke disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism, and subsequently, DM 2.
- Smoking, active and passive . The study, which lasted 20 years, showed that the stage of prediabetes is detected in 22% of smokers and 11.5% of non-smokers. Among passive smokers, those who can get DM are more than among those who have quit smoking.
- Alcohol. Avoiding alcohol abuse reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%.
- Sleep disorders. If sleep is disturbed, glucose metabolism disorders can be detected as early as a week later.
- Concomitant diseases: arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, lipid metabolism disorders, polycystic ovaries and others.
You can determine the likelihood of developing the disease by calculating BMI (body mass index). To do this, you need to divide the mass in kilograms by the height, recorded in meters, squared. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is normal. The higher the BMI, the higher the risk of the disease. So with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 (overweight) the risk of getting sick is doubled, and with a BMI of 30 to 34.9, which corresponds to grade 1 obesity, the same risk of developing type 2 diabetes is already 5 times higher. If you add at least one non-modifiable factor to it, for example, heredity, then it will be quite difficult to avoid diabetes.
