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30-Somethings Urged
to get Diabetes Tests as Incidence in Younger Adults
Rises Dramatically
Is age 30 too young to get a diabetes test? Unfortunately
for millions of young Americans who may not realize
they are at risk, it is not. Cases of the most common
form of diabetes, previously only associated with
aging, are up 70 percent among 30-somethings in
the past decade.
One million
Americans have Type 1 or "juvenile" diabetes,
in which a person’s body cannot make enough
insulin, a hormone crucial to converting blood sugar
into energy. But the vast majority of diabetics,
approximately 15 million Americans, have the Type
2 diabetes that sneaks up on you over time. The
cause of the increased incidence in America is the
increased amount of sugar young Americans now consume.
Over time, the body loses the ability to regulate
the amount of sugar consumed. High blood sugar damages
the blood vessels and nerves.
Because the disease develops slowly over years,
half of Type 2 diabetics have suffered serious damage
to their eyes, kidneys, nerves and arteries by the
time they learn they are sick.
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Having any of the following diabetes risks should
prompt you to get tested at age 30:
- Having a diabetic relative.
- Being overweight.
- Being black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian
or a Pacific Islander (These populations have
2 -3 times the risk of diabetes as whites.
- Having
heart disease, high blood pressure, high triglycerides
or low HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
- Women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy
or delivered a baby weighing more than 9 pounds.
- Women with a hormonal disorder called polycystic
ovarian syndrome.
- Having impaired glucose tolerance, a condition
that leads to diabetes.
Why check so early? The sooner you know, the easier
the condition is to treat with natural means. A
recent study found walking 30 minutes a day and
losing just 15 pounds cut the risk of developing
diabetes by 58%. In those age 60 or older, the lifestyle
changes reduced their chances of a diabetes diagnosis
by 71%. (The Lancet 2001;358:472-473.) The key may
be that foregoing the sweets to shed the pounds
also sheds the disease.
At least 16 million Americans have diabetes; the
number is expected to rise to 22 million within
25 years. At least a third do not know they have
the disease. Diabetes can lead to devastating and
costly complications, such as blindness, kidney
failure, heart disease, strokes, limb amputations
and early death. Diabetes kills 180,000 Americans
each year.
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