In a new study, researchers found that most people with pre-diabetes may remain stable or revert to normal blood sugar levels.
They will not develop type 2 diabetes.
The research was conducted by a team from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
Pre-diabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.
The condition can put people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
However, 90% of those with pre-diabetes don’t know they have it.
In the study, the team followed 918 adults aged 60 years and older with prediabetes for 12 years.
They found that about 22% of the people reverted to normal blood sugar levels, 13% develop diabetes, and 23% died.
The rest of the patients had stable blood sugar levels and no type 2 diabetes.
The team also found that lower systolic blood pressure, absence of heart diseases, and weight loss were linked to a higher chance of reverting from pre-diabetes to normal blood sugar levels.
On the other hand, obesity could accelerate its progression to type 2 diabetes.
This is the first study examining the development of type 2 diabetes in older people with pre-diabetes.
The team says that even in old age, reverting back from pre-diabetes to a normal blood sugar level is still possible with body weight management and blood pressure control.
It is important to make lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
The lead author of the study is Ying Shang from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
The study is published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
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