Signs of type 2 diabetes can occur several years before the outbreak

Can be diagnosed type 2 diabetes years before the outbreak?

Type 2 diabetes is a condition that affects more and more people today. Researchers found that the warning signs of type 2 diabetes could be detected up to 20 years before the diagnosis of the disease itself.

The scientists from Aizawa Hospital, Matsumoto, Japan, found in their study that the first warning signs of type 2 diabetes can be detected as early as 20 years before the diagnosis of the disease. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Journal of Endocrine Society".

More and more people around the world seem to be suffering from type 2 diabetes. The first signs of the disease can be recognized many years before their outbreak. (Image: PhotographyByMK / fotolia.com)

Interventions should start much earlier

Increased blood sugar levels and insulin resistance were detected in humans years earlier, before those affected developed prediabetes, which is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes, say the experts. The findings suggest that interventions to stop diabetes already in their onset should start much earlier in life, the authors add.

27,000 people participated in the study

The Japanese study, conducted between 2005 and 2016, examined the body mass index (BMI), the so-called fasting blood sugar level, and the insulin sensitivity of 27,000 non-diabetics aged between 30 and 50 years. These participants were mostly men.

What causes insulin resistance??

Insulin resistance occurs when the cells of the body do not respond properly to the hormone insulin, which can lead to a variety of health problems. A higher BMI is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The study monitored the subjects until they were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes (in which the blood sugar level is abnormally high) or by the end of the study in 2016, the researchers explain. In this study period, 1,067 new cases of type 2 diabetes were diagnosed.

Evidence for type 2 diabetes was evident years earlier

The physicians found that up to ten years before the diagnosis, affected persons had elevated blood sugar levels, increased insulin resistance and a higher BMI. A similar pattern was observed among those who started the development of prediabetes, also more than a decade before diagnosis, the authors of the study explain. Since most people who develop type 2 diabetes go through a prediabetes phase first, the researchers speculate that the warning signs of the disease may even be detectable more than 20 years before a true diagnosis.

Medication and lifestyle can prevent diabetes

Since preventive medical care is less successful in people with prediabetes over the long term, it may be necessary to intervene much earlier to prevent further development into diabetes, study author Dr. Hiroyuki Sagesaka from Aizawa Hospital in Matsumoto. A much earlier intervention path, either drug-related or lifestyle-based, is warranted, the expert adds. Prediabetes does not have to develop into type 2 diabetes. People can usually make lifestyle changes to prevent it. It is of course helpful to know the pre-existing risk at all times to avoid or prevent a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

Only a correct diagnosis leads to an optimal treatment

Whether or not people are at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, everyone should be encouraged to live a healthier lifestyle by eating healthier and moving more. When people develop type 1 diabetes later in life, they run the risk of being misdiagnosed to have type 2 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes need to be treated with insulin immediately, and patients with type 2 diabetes can be treated by improving their diet and exercising more. The right diagnosis is important for these patients to receive the appropriate advice and treatment, the experts explain. (As)