Controlling blood sugar cuts heart disease risk by half: Study

People with prediabetes who get their blood sugar under control may cut their risk of death from heart disease or heart failure by half, according to new research.

- Nina Agrawal

Prediabetes, which is estimated to affect 38 per cent of US adults, is a condition in which blood sugar levels are elevated but do not meet the threshold for diabetes.

The research, published on Dec 12 in the journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, suggested that people with prediabetes whose glucose levels returned to normal those who reached "remission" - had half the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalisation from heart failure two decades after reaching remission compared with those who did not.

"That is an incredible finding and really gives people hope that what they do today will have an effect two decades from now," said Dr Latha Palaniappan, associate dean for research at Stanford Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

There has long been evidence that Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of heart attacks and heart failure.

Some data have shown that prediabetes is also associated with cardiovascular disease, but it has been unclear whether that is because it often progresses to diabetes, said Dr Elizabeth Selvin, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The findings may add urgency for patients and doctors to take prediabetes seriously to prevent future complications.

Current guidelines for managing prediabetes emphasise weight loss and lifestyle habits to delay or prevent progression to Type 2 diabetes, but they do not specifically advocate lowering blood glucose levels to a lower-than-prediabetic range.