Diabetes Breakthrough: Scientists Stunned as Patients Who Reverse Prediabetes Slash Heart Disease Risk by HALF – and the Simple Lifestyle Changes That Can Save Your Life
- Prediabetes sufferers who brought their blood sugar under control reduced their risk of heart disease death or hospitalisation by a staggering 50%
- The groundbreaking study found that ‘reversing’ prediabetes can have a lasting impact, with benefits still evident 20 years later
- Experts are hailing the findings as a ‘wake-up call’ for patients and doctors to take prediabetes seriously and make lifestyle changes to prevent future complications
- The research suggests that weight loss and lifestyle habits can delay or prevent progression to Type 2 diabetes, and even reduce blood glucose levels to a lower-than-prediabetic range
In a shocking discovery that’s being hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight against diabetes, a new study has found that people who reverse their prediabetes can slash their risk of heart disease by a staggering 50%.
The research, published in the prestigious Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, followed patients who had successfully brought their blood sugar levels back under control – a process known as ‘remission’ – and found that they had significantly lower rates of heart disease death or hospitalisation 20 years later.
“That is an incredible finding and really gives people hope that what they do today will have an effect two decades from now,” said Dr. Latha Palaniappan, associate dean for research at Stanford Medicine, who was not involved in the study.
For years, scientists have known that Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, but the link between prediabetes and cardiovascular disease has been less clear. However, this new research suggests that prediabetes is a major risk factor – and that reversing it can have a profound impact on heart health.
So what can you do to reduce your risk? The study found that intensive lifestyle programs, including diet and exercise, can be highly effective in bringing blood sugar levels under control. And experts are now calling for current guidelines to be updated to reflect the importance of lowering blood glucose levels to a lower-than-prediabetic range.
The research was based on a follow-up analysis of data from two landmark trials, including the U.S. Diabetes Prevention Program trial, which ran from 1996 to 2001. The trial compared the effects of three interventions on the development of Type 2 diabetes in people who had prediabetes: an intensive lifestyle program, the use of the blood glucose lowering drug metformin, and a placebo.