Shocking New Study Finds That One in Two Healthy 45-Year-Olds Will Develop Pre-Diabetes

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    New research has found that pre-diabetes is disturbingly common in adults who are otherwise perfectly healthy, and doctors hope the findings will influence more people to keep track of their blood sugar.

    According to Fox News, the Netherlands funded a study involving 10,000 adults to perform their research, which spanned the course of 15 years. In short, they found that a shocking one in two healthy 45-year-olds will develop pre-diabetes at some point, while one in three healthy adults will go on to have full-blown diabetes.

    The American Diabetes Association says that pre-diabetes is defined by an elevated blood sugar level that is essentially a precursor to the full version of the disease. Sometimes called impaired glucose metabolism, pre-diabetes has no clear symptoms.

    The findings were startling, considering the study was meant to consistently test “healthy” adults. Over the 15 years of the study, a total of 1,148 people developed pre-diabetes while another 828 were eventually diagnosed with diabetes.

    Dr. Kamlesh Khunti of Leicester General Hospital in the UK, who co-authored the study, says that adults should find out if they have elevated blood sugar levels and continue to get tested for diabetes every one or two years.

    “We have known this from previous studies — but what this study adds is a method of communicating risk in a better way — a person’s lifetime risk of developing diabetes,” said Dr. Khunti.

    Diabetes is an expensive disease for Americans, and it tends to affect African-Americans at a much higher rate than other demographics. The American Diabetes Association estimates that the U.S. spends about $245 million every year on diabetes care, and recent projections show that as many as one in every three adults will have diabetes by 2050 if nothing changes.

    To combat these harrowing trends, there are efforts pouring in from esteemed sources around the country. According to Journal Now, Winston-Salem State University researchers have been awarded a $215,000 grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to explore diabetes prevention in black adults.

    As part of the research, WSSU will provide intervention programs to African-Americans who attend nearby churches. The research team will also offer weekly exercise programs and require all participants to attend educational seminars.

    As for the study from the Netherlands, it’s a sobering reminder that health is unpredictable. Proper diet and consistent blood tests are the only ways to combat diabetes, but programs like the ones being offered by WSSU are working wonders for an underserved community.

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