Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Prediabetes?Causes and Risk FactorsDiagnosis: Blood Tests for PrediabetesWhen to Get TestedReversalFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Prediabetes?
Causes and Risk Factors
Diagnosis: Blood Tests for Prediabetes
When to Get Tested
Reversal
Frequently Asked Questions
Often, there are no clear warning signs or symptoms of prediabetes. So screening is important if you’re at risk. Fortunately, prediabetes usually can be reversed with lifestyle modifications, including monitoring blood sugar levels, diet changes, and exercise.
This article will discuss the risk factors for prediabetes and the screening tests that uncover this serious condition, as well as ways to reverse its course.
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Prediabetesis an early warning sign that you may be headed towards full-blowntype 2 diabetes. Prediabetes means you have a higher than normal blood sugar (glucose), but not high enough to be considered a type 2 diabetes.
Metabolic syndromeis separate from prediabetes but still potentially indicated if there is an elevated blood sugar.
The bodies of people who have diabetes either can’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin they do make as well as they should. The reasons for this remain a mystery, but excess weight and a lack of physical activity appear to be major contributors. Genetics and poor eating habits are suspects, too.
Without treatment, it’s likely that you will develop type 2 diabetes. In fact, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases says that if you are diagnosed with prediabetes, you have up to a 50% chance of developing diabetes over the next five to 10 years.
The risk factors for diabetes include:
Insulin Takes Center StageIn prediabetes, your cells become resistant (or lesssensitive) to insulin, making it more difficult for sugar to be moved from the blood to your cells.
Insulin Takes Center Stage
In prediabetes, your cells become resistant (or lesssensitive) to insulin, making it more difficult for sugar to be moved from the blood to your cells.
Demographics
Technically, prediabetes is not diabetes, so it often goes undiagnosed. Still, an estimated 96 million adults have prediabetes in the U.S. This is roughly 38% of all adults in America.
Men are slightly more likely to have prediabetes than women. The prevalence of prediabetes is similar among all racial/ethnic groups.
Medical History
Prediabetes is more likely in those who struggle to maintain a healthy weight, do not participate in routine exercise, or have a personal history of gestational or family history of type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes, like diabetes, may also be associated with other medical conditions, such ashigh blood pressure, heart disease, andhigh cholesterol.
If your healthcare provider suspects that you have prediabetes, they may ask questions about your family and medical history, including:
Is Diabetes Genetic?
Family History
If you have a first-degree relative with diabetes (such as your mother, father, sister, or brother), you are more likely to get diabetes yourself. You are also more likely to have prediabetes.
One way to make sure you stay on track is to elicit the help of a diabetes care team. Discussing your family history of diabetes with a healthcare professional can help you formulate a plan to prevent or delay diabetes, as well as reverse prediabetes if you have it.
Prediabetes is an intermediate stage before full-blown type 2 diabetes that needs to be identified and addressed immediately. Any of the following results will confirm a diagnosis of prediabetes:
You can have prediabetes for years with no clear symptoms. The American Diabetes Association recommends regular screening for prediabetes starting at age 35.People who have overweight or obesity plus another risk factor like cardiovascular disease or a family history of diabetes should be screened for diabetes sooner.
U.S. Adults Should Begin Diabetes Screening at 35, Medical Panel Recommends
If you’re feeling the following symptoms, you may want to get tested for diabetes:
Early diagnosis and treatment are key to halting the progression of prediabetes. The longer you wait, the greater the risk of serious complications, like heart or kidney disease or vision loss.
Remember that prediabetes means your body is not producing enough insulin or the insulin does not work properly. Still, your high blood sugar levels have not yet begun to damage your organs, which is a major complication of type 2 diabetes.
Could You Have Undiagnosed Diabetes?
Can You Reverse Prediabetes?
The first step in preventing the progression of prediabetes is to lead a healthy lifestyle. The sooner you implement lifestyle changes, the more you’ll increase your chances of staving off diabetes.
Even prior to getting a formal diagnosis, it’s important for any at-risk person to take aCDC risk assessmentand adopt healthy lifestyle changes, including weight loss, regular and moderate-intensity exercise, and a balanced diet consisting of fruits and vegetables.
How to Stop Prediabetes from Turning into Diabetes
People with type 2 diabetes who have achieved remission may return to a prediabetes state or to a normal blood sugar range.
Summary
Prediabetes is an intermediate stage before type 2 diabetes that can be halted and reversed with early diagnosis and treatment. You can have prediabetes for a long time without showing symptoms, so it’s imperative to calculate your risk using the CDC assessment tools.
If you suspect that you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, a healthcare provider can confirm the diagnosis via a number of low-cost blood tests.
Prediabetes is common in the United States and around the world. About 96 million American adults—more than one in three adults under age 65 and 50% of people over age 65—have prediabetes.Moreover, eight out of 10 people with the condition don’t even know they have it since prediabetes often has no symptoms. So prediabetics may be undercounted.
Often, the symptoms include:Increased hungerIncreased thirstUnexpected weight lossFrequent urinationSudden changes in visionExtreme fatiguePoor wound healing
Often, the symptoms include:
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National diabetes statistics report.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Insulin resistance & prediabetes.American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee.2. Diagnosis and classification of diabetes:Standards of Care in Diabetes-2024.Diabetes Care. 2024;47(Suppl 1):S20-S42. doi:10.2337/dc24-S002Zimmermann LJ, Thompson JA, Persell SD.Electronic health record identification of prediabetes and an assessment of unmet counselling needs.J Eval Clin Pract.2012;18(4):861-865. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01703.x.Kaiser Permanente.Prediabetes: medical history and physical exam.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Recommended tests for identifying prediabetes.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of diabetes.Rothberg A, Lean M, Laferrère B.Remission of type 2 diabetes: always more questions, but enough answers for action.Diabetologia. 2024;67(4):602-610. doi:10.1007/s00125-023-06069-1
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National diabetes statistics report.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Insulin resistance & prediabetes.American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee.2. Diagnosis and classification of diabetes:Standards of Care in Diabetes-2024.Diabetes Care. 2024;47(Suppl 1):S20-S42. doi:10.2337/dc24-S002Zimmermann LJ, Thompson JA, Persell SD.Electronic health record identification of prediabetes and an assessment of unmet counselling needs.J Eval Clin Pract.2012;18(4):861-865. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01703.x.Kaiser Permanente.Prediabetes: medical history and physical exam.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Recommended tests for identifying prediabetes.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of diabetes.Rothberg A, Lean M, Laferrère B.Remission of type 2 diabetes: always more questions, but enough answers for action.Diabetologia. 2024;67(4):602-610. doi:10.1007/s00125-023-06069-1
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National diabetes statistics report.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Insulin resistance & prediabetes.American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee.2. Diagnosis and classification of diabetes:Standards of Care in Diabetes-2024.Diabetes Care. 2024;47(Suppl 1):S20-S42. doi:10.2337/dc24-S002Zimmermann LJ, Thompson JA, Persell SD.Electronic health record identification of prediabetes and an assessment of unmet counselling needs.J Eval Clin Pract.2012;18(4):861-865. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01703.x.Kaiser Permanente.Prediabetes: medical history and physical exam.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Recommended tests for identifying prediabetes.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of diabetes.Rothberg A, Lean M, Laferrère B.Remission of type 2 diabetes: always more questions, but enough answers for action.Diabetologia. 2024;67(4):602-610. doi:10.1007/s00125-023-06069-1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National diabetes statistics report.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Insulin resistance & prediabetes.
American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee.2. Diagnosis and classification of diabetes:Standards of Care in Diabetes-2024.Diabetes Care. 2024;47(Suppl 1):S20-S42. doi:10.2337/dc24-S002
Zimmermann LJ, Thompson JA, Persell SD.Electronic health record identification of prediabetes and an assessment of unmet counselling needs.J Eval Clin Pract.2012;18(4):861-865. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01703.x.
Kaiser Permanente.Prediabetes: medical history and physical exam.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Recommended tests for identifying prediabetes.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of diabetes.
Rothberg A, Lean M, Laferrère B.Remission of type 2 diabetes: always more questions, but enough answers for action.Diabetologia. 2024;67(4):602-610. doi:10.1007/s00125-023-06069-1
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