Using Biomarkers to Predict Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes has been a
dangerous chronic illness in the United States for
some time. And the disease has garnered considerable
attention in recent years. One reason that attention
has been paid to prediabetes is because it is a
frequent precursor to type 2 diabetes. Approximately
30 million Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes,
while more than 96 million have prediabetes.
However, biomarkers exist that can predict type 2
diabetes. Therefore, by using biomarkers, a healthcare
provider can take action to help a patient delay or
prevent the condition.
In a Japanese
study, 27,392 non-diabetic subjects were
evaluated from 2005 to 2016. The researchers
discovered that, on average, a number of risk
factors were more prevalent among people who
developed type 2 diabetes than among those who did
not. In particular, BMI, fasting glucose, and
insulin resistance were elevated up to ten years
prior to diagnosis.
Another study
conducted in Sweden revealed that risk factors for
type 2 diabetes are present long before the
condition is diagnosed. Twenty years were spent
observing 296,439 individuals who were not initially
diabetic. During the twenty-year-period, around 10%
of the study participants were diagnosed with type 2
diabetes. Looking at the biomarkers, BMI,
triglycerides, and fasting glucose, it was
discovered that those with higher-than-normal levels
of these biomarkers had a greater chance of
developing type 2 diabetes 20 years later.
In a recent
study of 12,823 people with a mean age of
43.54 years, a median follow-up length of 7.02 years
(maximum of 13 years) revealed that 320 participants
developed diabetes. In addition, waist circumference
(WC) was the best simple anthropometric measure of
obesity reflecting diabetes risk followed by waist-to-height
ratio (WHtR).
Further, the
researchers found that WHtR may be the most
beneficial for predicting pre-diabetes, since WHtR's
thresholds fluctuate less. WHtR thresholds ranged
from 0.47 to 0.50. Subjects with greater WHtR
readings had an increased chance of developing
diabetes within 6 to 12 years.
Therefore, clinicians should be aware that diabetes
can often be predicted. It is also possible to
delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. This knowledge can
help physicians more effectively manage patients who
are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
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