Type 2 diabetes can take years to develop, and if caught early it is an entirely preventable disease. A new study suggests a particular blood biomarker could be used to identify those patients on the way to a diabetes diagnosis but yet to display symptoms of disease.
Currently, doctors performing routine health checks often measure a patient’s blood sugar levels. When those blood sugar levels are elevated but below the official threshold for type 2 diabetes, one can be diagnosed with a condition called prediabetes.
However, not all patients with prediabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes. In fact, only around 50 percent of those with prediabetes will progress to diabetes over a 10-year follow-up. So beyond blood-glucose tracking, how can doctors identify those patients closest to developing clinical type 2 diabetes?
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