Katharina Buczek
According to the CDC, about one in ten Americans have diabetes. This adds up to 37.3 million people who suffer from the chronic disease in the U.S. alone.
And of these tens of millions, about one in five people do not even know they have diabetes.
The disease is a long-lasting health condition that essentially impacts how the human body metabolizes food into energy.
Genetic history can already predispose people to develop diabetes; however, environmental characteristics– such as a sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol, and obesity– are also high-risk factors.
And when diabetes is not well controlled, whether that be pre or post-diagnosis, the disease can damage many crucial body parts– including the heart, kidneys, eyes, feet, and nerves. It can also result in high blood pressure and artery hardening.
However, if diabetes is caught quickly enough, patients have a chance to slow and even reverse the progression of these life-threatening symptoms.
In turn, a team of researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland recently conducted a new study to uncover early diabetes diagnostic tools that can help curb the advancement of the disease.
And the study, which has since been published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, found that low levels of the sugar 1.5-anhydroglucitol are an early indicator of function loss in beta cells.
In turn, this molecule level– which can be detected using standard blood tests– is a solid early indicator of diabetes development in at-risk patients.
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