A new study by the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, published in the Lancet, followed 1900 people with prediabetes, some receiving treatment with drugs and lifestyle change and some not. The study showed that participants who reduced blood glucose levels to normal, even for a short period, were 56% less likely to progress to Type 2 diabetes over the six year study duration. The authors suggest a revision to “standard care” to aggressively treat prediabetes.
The American Diabetes Association estimates 79 million Americans, many undiagnosed, have prediabetes, where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but have not reached the level set for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Other studies have demonstrated that intervention at this stage of the diabetes continuum can fully reverse cardiovascular damage that seems unrecoverable once “full blown” diabetes is reached.
