If you are over 65, the odds are near 50 percent that you have prediabetes, meaning that your blood sugar levels are above normal, but it’s nothing to worry much about. Prediabetes does not mean that you are likely to get diabetes. But, if you have prediabetes, you should consider taking advantage of Medicare’s Diabetes Prevention Program or rethink your diet and daily activities.
Why are older adults more inclined to have prediabetes? A lot of older adults have somewhat higher blood-sugar levels than normal because they tend to produce less insulin than younger adults. They also process insulin less efficiently. Learning how to stay healthy with less insulin can be great for your health.
What to do if you have prediabetes? Prediabetes is associated with a greater risk of heart disease. So, you should focus on being active, keeping a healthy weight and eating healthy foods, particularly more protein, reports Judith Graham for Kaiser Health News. Medicare’s Diabetes Prevention Program is designed to help you do just that.
Medicare’s Diabetes Prevention Program: Four years ago, Medicare began covering a Diabetes Prevention Program for people with prediabetes. The program offers classes in the community that teach people with Medicare how to eat healthy, lose weight and exercise more. Unfortunately, people do not know about the program or, if they do, most do not enroll.
The risk of diabetes if you are found to have prediabetes: Some experts believe that you should be screened for prediabetes at 45 and again every three years. An April study by the Centers for Disease Control found that, in one year, just 2,500 out of 50,000 older adults with prediabetes ended up with diabetes. That amounts to a five percent risk of getting diabetes.
A 2021 study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that fewer than one in eight people with prediabetes ended up with diabetes after six and a half years. That’s less than 12.5 percent of people with prediabetes. Many more of them got their blood-sugar levels under control.
Risk factors for diabetes: You’re more likely to have diabetes if you are overweight or have a family history of diabetes. Black older adults and people with low incomes are also more at risk of getting diabetes. And, men are more likely than women to have diabetes.
Should you take metformin? Don’t take metformin, says one endocrinologist, if you have prediabetes. Only take it if you have diabetes and are prescribed it.
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