“By finding abnormal blood glucose early, you may prevent that pathway by starting lifestyle interventions early”, said Pignone.
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Now the American Diabetes Association recommends anyone age 45 and up should get tested for diabetes, but the USPSTF argues that this might not come soon enough. American adults who were already in their 40’s and heavier than what their normal weights should be, must take it upon themselves to undergo blood testing, even those who do not have symptoms of the dreaded and widespread diabetes disease.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced on Tuesday, October 27 that overweight adults, regardless if they have no clinical manifestations of type 2 diabetes should be screened for the disease.
Abnormal blood sugar levels are a risk factor for diabetes, and the latest scientific evidence has shown that identifying people who are at risk for diabetes and its cardiovascular complications, and referring them to lifestyle-change programs early on, can reduce their health risks in the future, he said.
Pignone, who is also professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that obesity and being overweight are risk factors for type-2-diabetes.
Nearly 40 percent of USA adults have abnormal blood sugar levels that increase diabetes risk, he said. The Association said the newly released recommendation falls short of global guidelines and that narrowing the focus on individuals aged 40-70 years old implies that the age group with the most number of undiagnosed disease goes unrecognized. People who will be found to have high blood sugar levels but not exactly diabetes should be referred to comprehensive behavioral counseling for them to employ healthy dietary practices and physical activity that may help them to avoid or delay the disease.
That has changed in the meantime; since then, six studies on the matter have been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, all pointing to the fact that it’s definitely helpful to alter and improve someone’s lifestyle as a prevention method for diabetes.
Another factor that may have tipped the equation in favor of more screening is that one of the tests used to screen for diabetes – the hemoglobin A1C test – has made it much simpler for people to get a quick and accurate measurement of their blood glucose levels without needing to do an overnight fast, Gabbay said.
Approximately 86 million adults in the USA have abnormal blood sugar.
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Adults aged 20-44 years old have the highest rate of undiagnosed diabetes cases – nearly 60 percent higher that the entire adult population.
