People with prediabetes can lower their long-term risk of death and diabetes-related complications if they can delay the onset of diabetes for four years using diet and exercise, according to a study published Tuesday in PLOS Medicine.
Healthy eating and exercise may delay or lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes in those with impaired glucose tolerance, or prediabetes. But the medical community wasn’t sure how long a person should delay diabetes to achieve better long-term health.
Researchers evaluated data from 540 people with prediabetes who participated in a trial conducted in China. The study started in 1986 and spanned 30 years. Participants were split into a control group or one of three lifestyle intervention groups. The groups were focused on healthy eating, exercise, and one group incorporated both. The team evaluated people at two, four and six years after diagnosis during that time.
The team specified a score to gauge the long-term risk of death, cardiovascular events and other diabetes-related complications. Data showed that people who were able to avoid diabetes for four years after their initial diagnosis had a lower risk of dying as well as a reduced risk for a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack compared to those who went on to develop diabetes sooner.
“These results suggest that in high-risk diabetic populations, a ‘four-year threshold’ existed in the duration of maintaining a non-diabetes status and exceeding this ‘threshold’ may reduce the risk of death and vascular complications,” the authors wrote.“This study suggests that a longer duration of non-diabetes status in those with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) has beneficial health outcomes and reduces mortality. The implementation of effective interventions targeting those with IGT should be considered as part of preventative management for diabetes and diabetes related vascular complications,” the authors wrote.
