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Dual Strategy in Dealing with Pre-Diabetes Encouraged |
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Latest Health News
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Prevention of pre-Diabetes progression to full-blown diabetes and its associated enormous costs
Specialists from the American Association of Endocrinologists (AACE) suggest that modifying lifestyle practices and minimizing the risks of heart problems will significantly prevent the development of pre-diabetes into the full-blown disease.
Pre-diabetes is a condition that results when there is an increase in blood sugar levels or impairment in glucose tolerance, but not sufficiently high or significant to qualify for the criteria of diabetes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that there are over 56 million Americans who are currently suffering from pre-diabetes.
During a lunchtime teleconference, Dr. Harold Lebovitz, a medical professor at the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism/Diabetes of the State University of New York Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn said that “diabetes has become the major problem in the United States.”
Lebovitz observed that diabetes is chiefly causing kidney failure and majority of blindness in adults, and has led to approximately 60 percent of cardiovascular disorders.
Lebovitz stated that the issue is, “do you wait until patients really develop these catastrophic complications?” According to him, last year’s indirect and direct costs of taking care of patients suffering from diabetes amounted to $170 billion.
Unless certain measures are taken to control it, this increasing incidence of diabetes in the United States will go on incurring higher costs, Lebovitz noted. He said that diabetes generally begins at an earlier stage, a condition known as pre-diabetes. He further raised the question, “Should you wait for pre-diabetic patients to develop diabetes and the complications, or should you take a preventive approach?”
The AACE is actively seeking and implementing measures to prevent the progression of pre-diabetes to full-blown diabetic condition. Changes in lifestyle including dietary modifications and physical Exercise comprise the first step. Lebovitz stated that although development of lifestyle programs will cost a lot of money, its long-term outcome will eventually lead to trillions of dollar savings in health care costs.
Lebovitz said that many individuals ask whether pre-diabetes is actually a disease. What is essential he explained, “is that pre-diabetes is not something people don’t have problems with.” He further elucidated that people may not experience any problems in their 30’s, “but when they’re 50, they’ve had their Heart attack and now they have an Ulcer on the foot.”
Aside from lifestyle modifications, the AACE believes in the more aggressive treatment of pre-diabetes as a key factor in the prevention of its progression to full-blown diabetes.
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any medicinal therapies for pre-diabetes, the AACE recommends an alternative way to expand their availability: Lower the blood sugar levels that qualify for diabetes. That would provide a way for people currently categorized as pre-diabetics to have an access to these medications.
Furthermore, people whose cardiovascular risks cannot be modified by changes in lifestyle practices should undergo treatment for high blood pressure and elevated Cholesterol levels. They should also be given medications to keep their blood sugar within safe levels.
According to a statement made by Dr. Daniel Einhorn, AACE’s vice president, statistics reveal that there exists a spectrum of severity, wherein the most severely affected are nearing the risks of people who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. "In these highest-risk individuals, who represent a minority, pharmacologic strategies may be appropriate if intensive lifestyle therapies fail. Regardless, all individuals at risk for diabetes should be aware of the level of their risk factors and be prepared to take action," he added.
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