If your body mass index (BMI) — a measure of body fat based on each weight and height — is 25 or higher, you need to be screened for prediabetes and diabetes every three years starting at age 35, slightly than age 40, in keeping with the newest advice from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening these people at a younger age will hopefully catch more cases of prediabetes and diabetes sooner and help reverse a few of the worst effects of the disease. According to the CDC, about 13 percent of American adults have diabetes, and one other 34.5 percent have prediabetes.
Many individuals with diabetes — some 21.4% — do not know they’ve it. In 2017, diabetes was the seventh leading explanation for death within the United States. Uncontrolled, it may possibly result in plenty of serious health effects, including kidney failure, blindness, and cardiovascular and liver disease.
Typically, diabetes screening is completed by measuring blood sugar after an eight-hour fast or by getting a blood test for hemoglobin A1C (this will be done at any time of day). If you are at high risk for diabetes, your doctor should want to start screening you at a good younger age, as advisable.
If you might be diagnosed with prediabetes, lifestyle changes—akin to improving your food plan, exercising, and reducing weight—and certain medications can prevent or delay the event of diabetes.
Photo: Mladen Zukok/Getty Images
