How to Tell if a Person May Have Pre-diabetes

Author: University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Published: 2015/11/02 - Updated: 2025/01/23
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed, Informative
Category Topic: Diabetes Information - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: This article highlights a significant discovery by researchers at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, who identified a panel of unsaturated fatty acid markers in the blood that can indicate pre-diabetes up to a decade before traditional diagnostic methods. This advancement enables earlier detection, allowing individuals to implement lifestyle changes to prevent the progression to type 2 diabetes. The research also emphasizes that not all obese individuals are pre-diabetic, underscoring the importance of targeted testing for more personalized and effective interventions - Disabled World (DW).

Defining Pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes: Pre-diabetes is a medical condition where an individual's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. It serves as a warning sign that one is at increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. People with pre-diabetes have higher than normal levels of blood sugar, often because their body doesn't use insulin efficiently, a condition known as insulin resistance, or because their pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin. Lifestyle modifications, including weight loss, increased physical activity, and a healthy diet, are typically recommended to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Screening for pre-diabetes involves tests like the A1C, fasting plasma glucose, or an oral glucose tolerance test.

Introduction

The University of Hawaii Cancer Center discovery could warn patients years in advance allowing for a lifestyle change. A panel of markers have been discovered that helps identify if a person is pre-diabetic by measuring the fatty acids in their blood. This discovery by University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers may allow physicians to warn patients years before the onset of diabetes, therefore allowing them to change their lifestyle patterns potentially avoiding the diagnosis of a chronic disease.

Main Content

Pre-Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

Pre-Diabetes:

Pre-diabetes is defined as a condition that is related to Diabetes that has the potential to be reversed through both weight loss and exercise, which can prevent Type 2 Diabetes from occurring. Pre-Diabetes increases a person's risk of not only developing Type 2 Diabetes, but their risk of either a stroke, or heart disease. Persons with Pre-Diabetes experience blood sugar levels which are higher than they should be, yet are not high enough to be considered either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Metabolic Syndrome:

Metabolic Syndrome involves a series of abnormalities, of which Type 2 Diabetes is a part. The syndrome involves not only Type 2 Diabetes, but high fat levels in the person's blood, hypertension, decreased HDL cholesterol, elevated LDL cholesterol, blood clotting, inflammatory responses, and central obesity. Metabolic Syndrome has a high rate of Cardiovascular Disease associated with it, and is also referred to as, 'Syndrome X.'

Risk of Developing Diabetes

"Currently there are no clinical tests that tell you the likelihood of developing diabetes, only exams that tell you for example if someone that is pre-diabetic has relatively high blood sugar or insulin levels," said Dr. Wei Jia director of the UH Cancer Center's Metabolomics Shared Resources Program.

"To know if you are likely to get diabetes in a few years is an important discovery. People can hopefully get tested for the disease during physical exams in the future."

The unsaturated fatty acid markers recently identified in a study published online in the journal EBioMedicine can mark if someone is pre-diabetic long before conventional ways of measuring the disease. The levels of these fatty acids can change up to 10 years before the individuals are diagnosed with diabetes.

The markers through a blood sample test may help predict the risk of developing pre-diabetes and Metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions including elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance and high glucose level.

"It is conventionally assumed that if people are obese they are in risk of being pre-diabetic. However, sometimes people who are obese can still be healthy. If people know they are specifically pre-diabetic they can have a more targeted way of treating it," said Dr. Jia.

Obesity is associated with the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, it has been increasingly recognized that obesity is not a homogeneous condition and about 25 to 40 percent of obese individuals can actually maintain healthy status with no apparent signs of health complications.

Dr. Jia and his research team conducted a metabolomics study on four independent cohorts that involved a total of 452 participants, in collaboration with scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University affiliated Shanghai 6th People's Hospital.

The team performed a cross-sectional study with metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese subjects, a longitudinal study to observe the occurrence of developing pre-diabetes over as long as ten years, and two studies to evaluate the therapeutic effects on subjects who underwent metabolic surgery or received very low carbohydrate diet for eight weeks. The researchers aim to continue developing the blood test technology, and eventually have it available for physicians.

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by University of Hawaii Cancer Center and published on 2015/11/02, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.