Diabetes Is Now More Common and More Preventable

Diabetes is one of the most serious health hazards we have in the United States. Do you know what it is, and how do you find out if you have it.....or are getting it?

Diabetes is a disease in which the body has a blood sugar level much higher than normal. If the fasting blood glucose (sugar) level is over 125 mg/dl, or if the blood glucose level is over 200 mg/dl 2 hours after a meal, a person has diabetes.

But there are several types of diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, usually occurring in childhood, the body doesn't make enough insulin (the hormone from the pancreas that keeps the blood sugar down to normal}. In type 2 diabetes, the usual type that has its onset in adult life, the body is resistant to insulin.

In adults, the frequency of diabetes is increasing, up 13% just between 2005 and 2007. According to Gene Lawrence of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Health System, the number of young women who have diabetes before they become pregnant has doubled to nearly 2% between 1999 and 2005. In addition, 1 of every 13 babies (7.5%) are now born each year to women who have developed diabetes during the course of their pregnancy. This is called "gestational diabetes" and most of these moms develop adult type 2 diabetes a few years later in life.

In fact, 11% of people over 20 years old (24 million of us) now have diabetes. And this is even higher in people above age 60, 24%. In 2002, this disease contributed to the death of 224,000 people.

But what is even scarier, 57 million of us Americans have prediabetes, a condition that becomes serious diabetes if not checked in time. One of every three people over 60 has prediabetes. This prediabetes is present if your fasting blood sugar is between 100 mg/dl and 125 mg/dl, or if your blood sugar 2 hours after eating is 140 mg/dl to 199 mg/dl.

The increased frequency of diabetes is associated with an increasing frequency of the complete "metabolic syndrome," a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. Because of this, people should be concerned about preventing diabetes at all ages.

Do you have an increased risk of getting diabetes? Fortunately, there is now a simple test which can tell you what your risk is, so you can discuss what to do with your doctor. You can find this diabetes risk test at www.diabetes.org . If you have these risk factors, this test will calculate your risk of getting diabetes: age (high risk if you're over 56), race (worse in African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian Americans), High blood pressure, overweight or obese, a family history of diabetes, low exercise level, or diabetes during pregnancy.

There are now updated recommendations for you from the American Diabetes Association published in the January issue of Diabetes Care .First, more frequent testing for diabetes is appropriate in everyone, so make certain you know what your fasting blood sugar is (from your physician). And if you have not had one, be certain to ask your physician or a health clinic which you attend to check your fasting blood sugar.

Secondly, if your fasting sugar is high or if your blood sugar 2 hours after eating is abnormal, work closely with your physician to get the appropriate treatment. Most physicians will prescribe weight loss, exercise, and possibly even the very helpful medicine metformin to help to treat the high blood sugar and prevent progression of prediabetes to diabetes, or worsening of diabetes.

It is also important to check your cholesterol because it is so closely associated with diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Once you know your cholesterol level, you can discuss it with your physician so that your total cholesterol, good cholesterol (high density lipoproteins or HDL), and bad cholesterol (low density lipoprotein or LDL) are all in the safest ranges: total cholesterol under 200 mg/dl, with HDL over 60 mg/dl and LDL under 100 mg/dl.

As diabetes is becoming more common, it is important for all of us to not only know our weight, but also to know our fasting blood sugar, and to be aware of your cholesterol level. Be certain to talk over your family history, your personal health habits, your weight, and your blood test results with your physician for staying healthy as you mature.