The Centers for Disease Control reports 54 million adults have pre-diabetes, but there are ways to avoid putting yourself at risk for full-blown diabetes. Judy Fortin has more in a WJBF-TV News Channel 6 Medical Report.
Atlanta, GA -- Carol Kee learned, 12 years ago, that she's pre-diabetic, a condition in which her blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as full-blown diabetes. She's working hard to make sure she'll never receive that diagnosis.
Carol Kee, pre-diabetes patient: "The first thing, I stopped smoking. Then, I stopped drinking coffee. Then, I stopped alcohol."
Carol says her lifestyle changes were extensive, but the effort is nothing compared with facing the potential complications that go along with diabetes.
Dr. Martin Abrahamson, Joslin Diabetes Center: "Diabetes, we know today, is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world. It's the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the Western world. It's the leading cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputations."
Dr. Martin Abrahamson recommends adults be screened by age 45, and earlier, if at higher risk.
Dr. Abrahamson: "This includes people who are obese, people who have a family history of type 2 diabetes, individuals who have high blood pressure, individuals who have abnormal cholesterol levels."
While Carol's diagnosis is frightening, she says it's been a lifesaving wake up call.
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