You may be at risk for diabetes and not even know it, Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) has concluded in a new study. A biomarker screening of nearly 1,700 patients by the Virginia-based HDL determined that testing insulin resistance and dysfunctions in their pancreatic beta cells are more accurate ways of determining the risk of contracting diabetes than measuring blood sugar levels. Of that group, 20 percent were already considered diabetic, with another 25 percent considered prediabetic based on their blood sugar levels. However, another 46 percent of the patients screened who would be considered at low risk for diabetes based on their blood sugar levels showed signs of insulin resistance and dysfunctional pancreatic cells. A large bulk of the patients reduced their risk for contracting the disease after several months of lifestyle interventions and other treatments. The study was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research. “The findings represent a substantial increase in sensitivity of diabetes risk detection, and earlier detection allows appropriate interventions to be administered when they are likely to be most effective,” said Szilard Voros, M.D., HDL’s chief clinical strategy officer and one of the study’s co-authors. Finding early ways to […]
You may be at risk for diabetes and not even know it, Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) has concluded in a new study.
A biomarker screening of nearly 1,700 patients by the Virginia-based HDL determined that testing insulin resistance and dysfunctions in their pancreatic beta cells are more accurate ways of determining the risk of contracting diabetes than measuring blood sugar levels.
Of that group, 20 percent were already considered diabetic, with another 25 percent considered prediabetic based on their blood sugar levels.
However, another 46 percent of the patients screened who would be considered at low risk for diabetes based on their blood sugar levels showed signs of insulin resistance and dysfunctional pancreatic cells.
A large bulk of the patients reduced their risk for contracting the disease after several months of lifestyle interventions and other treatments. The study was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research.
“The findings represent a substantial increase in sensitivity of diabetes risk detection, and earlier detection allows appropriate interventions to be administered when they are likely to be most effective,” said Szilard Voros, M.D., HDL’s chief clinical strategy officer and one of the study’s co-authors.
Finding early ways to confront diabetes is becoming a growing challenge in the United States, where numbers of the type 2 version of the disease have reached epidemic levels. About 30 million Americans have diabetes, close to 10 percent of the entire population. But nearly a quarter of those cases have not been officially diagnosed.
Perhaps more troubling is that another 86 million Americans have shown symptoms of being prediabetic based on traditional blood sugar readings alone, meaning tens of millions more may also be at risk based on HDL’s screening methods.
Whether the study findings will be a boon for HDL’s bottom line remains to be seen. The company provides screening services and disease management for individuals with cardiac and chronic conditions, including diabetes. An HDL spokesperson did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Takeaway: HDL’s screening methods may turn up more patients at risk for developing diabetes and eventually contribute to its bottom line.
