Dive Brief:
- Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands analyzed long-term data of 10,000 adults in the Netherlands to develop a method of determining a person's lifetime risk for developing diabetes.
- Results showed that over 15 years, 1,148 people developed elevated blood sugar levels, 828 developed diabetes and 237 took insulin to control their diabetes.
- This data were then translated into population risk levels at age 45, which indicated about half the people would develop pre-diabetic blood sugar levels before their death, 30% would develop full-blown diabetes and 9% would start taking insulin.
Dive Insight:
In addition, the study found 75% with high blood sugar at age 45 would develop diabetes, and half of those with diabetes would start taking insulin.
Pre-diabetes has no specific symptoms, but those with higher than normal blood sugar should be tested for diabetes every year or two, says the American Diabetes Association. Having a higher body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference increases risks for developing diabetes.
The study authors said elevated blood sugar is common but estimates of how many people will develop it had not been previously published. The study results indicate half the population with normal blood sugar will develop pre-diabetic levels and may qualify for preventative lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) and medications to reduce their risk.
Kamlesh Kunti, of Leicester General Hospital in the U.K., who co-authored an editorial of the study results, said, "People should know their risk, and if they are at higher risk, then they should have a more intensive method of reducing future diabetes risk."