The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have joined the American Medical Association to create a new program aimed reducing the number of Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, one of the most common chronic medical conditions in the United States.
The initiative, entitled “Prevent Diabetes STAT: Screen, Test, Act – Today,” will focus on individuals who have prediabetes, which is characterized by having blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetic. Unless they are able to lose weight through diet and exercise, 15%-30% of prediabetic individuals are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within 5 years of becoming prediabetic.
“This isn’t just a concern: It’s a crisis,” said AMA president Robert M. Wah, during a telebriefing on Thursday. “It’s not only taking a physical and emotional toll on people living with prediabetes, but it also takes an economic toll on our country. More than $245 billion in health care spending and reduced productivity is directly linked to diabetes,” Dr. Wah said.
“The truth is, our health care system simply can not sustain the growing number of people developing diabetes,” said Ann Albright, Ph.D., director of the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, during the same telebriefing. “Research shows that screening, testing, and referring people who are at risk for type 2 diabetes is critical, [and] that when people know they have prediabetes, they are more likely to take action.”
To that end, the AMA and CDC have created an online “toolkit” that allows health care providers and patients to understand the risks and signs of prediabetes. The toolkit will offer resources on how to prevent high blood glucose levels from progressing to type 2 diabetes. Additionally, both organizations have created an online screening tool that allows visitors to determine their risk for prediabetes.
Health care providers are another key component of Prevent Diabetes STAT, said Dr. Wah and Dr. Albright, who urged physicians and health care teams to actively screen patients using either the CDC’s Prediabetes Screening Test or the American Diabetes Association’s Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test, test for prediabetes using one of three recommended blood tests, and refer prediabetic patients to a CDC-recognized prevention program.
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