In a recent study published in the journal PLOS Medicine , a team of researchers in China examined whether the years an individual retained the non-diabetic status after an initial diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was associated with the risk of long-term outcomes such as cardiovascular disease or death. Study: Non-diabetes status after diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance and risk of long-term death and vascular complications: A post hoc analysis of the Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Outcome Study . Image Credit: siam.
pukkato / Shutterstock Type 2 diabetes is rapidly becoming a global health concern, especially because it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, disability, and mortality and exerts a substantial economic burden on patients and societies. However, among individuals who have been diagnosed early with impaired glucose tolerance, interventions associated with lifestyle changes, such as increased exercise and diet modifications, have been found to be effective in delaying the progression of diabetes. Studies by the American Diabetes Association have shown that lifestyle modifications significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, microvascular complications, and all-cause mortality.
However, other studies have reported that lifestyle interventions and metformin treatment did not lower cardiovascular disease risk. Furthermore, the number of years an individual has retained the non-diabetic status after an impaired glucose tolerance diagn.
