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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