Without intervention, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years, which puts them at risk of serious health problems, including: Heart attack. Stroke.
Losing weight and reversing prediabetes can take anywhere from a few weeks, to a few months, to a few years, but the window of time to reverse prediabetes after a diagnosis is between 2-6 years – so you have time!
Your risk of developing diabetes is about 10% per year if you have prediabetes. That means if nothing changes, you're highly likely to have diabetes within five to ten years. Some experts have found that up to 70% of people with prediabetes will develop diabetes within their lifetimes.
Prediabetes can progress to diabetes within a year, but it is also reversible. If you have risk factors for prediabetes and diabetes, talk to a healthcare provider about getting your A1C levels checked.
It can take months or years before symptoms of type 1 diabetes are noticed. Type 1 diabetes symptoms can develop in just a few weeks or months. Once symptoms appear, they can be severe. Some type 1 diabetes symptoms are similar to symptoms of other health conditions.
Without taking action, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. With numbers like that, it's important to learn about prediabetes and take action.
And most importantly, it's reversible. You can prevent or delay prediabetes from turning into type 2 diabetes with simple, proven lifestyle changes.
Prediabetes is a health condition in which you have higher blood sugar levels than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes. People with prediabetes have up to a 50% chance of developing diabetes over the next five to 10 years.
The exact cause of prediabetes is unknown. But family history and genetics appear to play an important role. What is clear is that people with prediabetes don't process sugar (glucose) properly anymore. Most of the glucose in your body comes from the food you eat.
Prediabetes can be reversed using medications and lifestyle changes. Reversal focuses on lowering blood sugar levels for six months or longer. However, a prediabetic person should consult their doctor before starting any diabetes treatment reversal methods.
Without patients and their doctors taking action, prediabetes is likely to become type 2 diabetes in 10 years or less. People with prediabetes should know that the long—term damage to their body—especially to the heart, kidneys and blood vessels — may already be happening.
However, high cortisol levels caused by stress can impact your blood sugar, weight and eating habits. In other words, stress is one of many factors that can contribute to insulin resistance (prediabetes) and diabetes risk.
Patients with prediabetes who change their eating habits and increase their physical activity can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. In some cases, patients can even regain normal blood glucose levels.
Not everyone with prediabetes will go on to develop diabetes. Over the short term (three to five years), about 25% of people with prediabetes develop full-blown diabetes. The percentage is significantly larger over the long term. Getting the wake-up call of prediabetes can be very useful.
The good news is that prediabetes can be seen as a warning sign—it's the body's way of saying that your insulin levels are rising, but you can still reverse it before developing type 2 diabetes. And reversing the process is key because type 2 diabetes can be a devastating disease.
Even Really Healthy People Are Prone to Diabetes: Here's What You Should Know. We often assume that just because a person is skinny, they're in perfect health. However, even healthy people can develop insulin resistance, a condition that leads to high blood sugar or diabetes.
“The American Heart Association is a little more stringent, and for people at risk for heart disease, including those with prediabetes, it recommends less than six teaspoons of sugar a day for women (about 25 grams) and less than nine teaspoons (about 36 grams) a day for men.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with prediabetes often develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years if they do not get treatment.
If diabetes isn't treated, it can lead to a number of other health problems. High glucose levels can damage blood vessels, nerves and organs. Even a mildly raised glucose level that doesn't cause any symptoms can have long-term damaging effects.
Fasting blood sugar test
In general: Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L ) is normal. 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L ) is diagnosed as prediabetes. 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L ) or higher on two separate tests is diagnosed as diabetes.
So, there is reliable evidence that insufficient sleep has an adverse effect on glucose tolerance and can bring people who are otherwise healthy to developing prediabetes.
One in three US adults isn't getting enough sleep, and over time, this can increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression.