WHAT SENIORS
SHOULD KNOW
ABOUT PREDIABETES
Most seniors
recognize that
routine visits
to their physicians
are an important
component of
preventive health care.
Annual physicals are
important for everyone,
but they’re especially
important for individuals 65 and older who may be
more vulnerable to disease and various other health
conditions than younger adults.
The National Institute on Aging reports that
millions of individuals 65 and older have visited their
physicians and learned they have a condition known
as prediabetes. For some, the day they receive a
prediabetes diagnosis also marks the first time they’ve
heard of the condition. Since so many seniors are
affected by prediabetes, it can behoove anyone to learn
more about it.
What is prediabetes? The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention notes that prediabetes is a serious
health condition characterized by higher than normal
blood sugar levels. When a person has prediabetes,
his or her blood sugar levels are not yet high enough
to indicate type 2 diabetes, but that could change if
prediabetes patients do not make changes to prevent
such a progression.
How common is prediabetes? A 2023 study published
in the journal Diabetes Care indicates that 464 million
individuals across the globe had impaired glucose
tolerance (IGT) and 298 million had impaired fasting
glucose (IFG) in 2021. Each of those conditions are
hallmarks of prediabetes, cases of which the study
indicates are expected to rise significantly by 2045.
What causes prediabetes? The CDC notes that when
a person has prediabetes, the cells in his or her body
do not respond normally to insulin, which is a hormone
produced by the pancreas that enables blood sugar to
enter cells, which then use it for energy. The pancreas
then makes more insulin to get cells to respond, but
eventually the pancreas cannot keep up, resulting in a
rise in blood sugar.
Does prediabetes produce symptoms? Many people
have prediabetes for years and do not know it. In fact,
the CDC reports that more than 80 percent of the 98
million American adults who have prediabetes are
unaware that they do.
How can I determine if I have prediabetes? The
sheer volume of people who have prediabetes but
are unaware that they do begs the question of what
individuals can do to learn if they have the condition
before they develop type 2 diabetes. Recognition of the
risk factors for prediabetes is a good start. The CDC
urges anyone who has any of the following risk factors
to speak with their doctor about having their blood
sugar tested:
• Being overweight • Being 45 or older
• Having a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes
• Being physically active less than three times per week
• A history of diabetes during pregnancy (gestational
diabetes) or giving birth to a baby who weighed more
than nine pounds
• Having polycystic ovary syndrome
• Being African American, Hispanic/Latino American,
American Indian, or Pacific Islander. Some Asian
Americans also are at greater risk for prediabetes.
Prediabetes can be a precursor to type 2 diabetes,
which only highlights how important it is that older
adults recognize their risk for the condition.
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