Khaberni - Khaberni - Scientific efforts continue to understand the factors affecting heart health in individuals at risk of diabetes, amid increasing global interest in early prevention of chronic diseases.
Prediabetes is known as a condition where blood glucose levels are elevated above normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes, yet it is associated with an increased risk of heart and cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading causes of death globally. The number of people with prediabetes worldwide is estimated at more than one billion.
In this regard, a new study reveals that lowering blood sugar levels significantly reduces the risk of heart disease in people with prediabetes, potentially by as much as half, opening up prospects for early cardiac prevention.
The study, conducted by King's College London, shows that restoring blood glucose levels to normal - effectively recovering from a prediabetic state - reduces the risk of death from heart disease or hospitalization due to heart failure by more than 50%.
The study reanalyzed data from two long-term diabetes prevention trials, the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study in the United States (DPPOS) and the Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Outcomes Study in DaQing, China (DaQing-DPOS), which monitored participants with prediabetes over decades, focusing on interventions related to physical activity and dietary regimen.
The results showed a 58% decrease in the risk of death from heart disease or hospitalization due to heart failure among individuals who recovered from prediabetes, with the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious cardiovascular events also declining by 42%, with consistent data between Chinese and American results.
These findings come at a time when recent research indicates that lifestyle changes alone, such as exercise, weight loss, and improving the diet, do not necessarily achieve a significant decrease in the risk of cardiovascular diseases in this group.
The study highlights a potential shift in the approach to treating prediabetes, presenting a new therapeutic target aimed at restoring metabolic balance, rather than merely delaying disease progression. Researchers believe this approach could save lives and reduce long-term cardiovascular complications.
The study's lead researcher, Dr. Andreas Berkenfeld, a lecturer in the Diabetes Department at King's College London and Tübingen University Hospital, stated that the findings challenge a prevailing assumption in modern preventive medicine, namely that weight loss, exercise, and a healthy diet alone are sufficient to protect those with prediabetes from heart attacks and early death.
He added, "Despite the significant health importance of lifestyle changes, the evidence does not support their ability to reduce death rates or heart attacks, while recovery from prediabetes shows a clear association with reduced deaths from heart diseases, heart failure, and deaths from any cause.""
Berkenfeld emphasized that recovery from prediabetes could become a primary preventive tool, alongside reducing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels, and quitting smoking, to reduce heart attacks and deaths associated with heart diseases.
The study was published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
