According to a recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. only 6 percent of Primary Care Practitioners (PCPs) were able to identify 11 prediabetes risk factors (there are actually 13) that would prompt them to screen patients under the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines.
Researchers surveyed 140 PCPs associated with Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and found the ADA guidelines were helpful for 42 percent of respondents, while 30 percent were unfamiliar with these guidelines. (Source: “Prediabetes Risk Unrecognized by Most PCPs” Aug. 5, 2017)
The purpose of the study was to assess PCPs’:
- knowledge of risk factors that should prompt prediabetes screening, laboratory criteria for diagnosing prediabetes and guidelines for management of prediabetes;
- management practices around prediabetes; and
- attitudes and beliefs about prediabetes
86 million U.S. adults (1 in 3) have prediabetes, and 9 out of 10 don’t know they do. (www.cdc.gov/diabetes/) Simple lifestyle changes could prevent this progression, but most people with the condition are not aware they have it and only a quarter report receiving relevant lifestyle recommendations.
To find out whether the problem could stem from a lack of knowledge among PCPs, researchers asked attendees (primarily physicians trained in internal medicine, family medicine, internal medicine-pediatrics, nurse practitioners and one physician assistant) to complete a survey. More than half (59 percent) had been in practice at least 10 years.
Can you identify the risk factors for prediabetes?
- Body mass index ≥25 kg/m2
- Age>45y/o
- Hypertension (Part of the metabolic syndrome)
- Dyslipidemia, (Part of the metabolic syndrome)
- Heart disease
- Family history of diabetes in a first-degree relative
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Race and ethnicity can affect risk. African-Americans, Asian-American, Hispanics, American Indian, Alaskan Natives, Chinese, Asian Indians and Chinese are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes.
- History of gestational diabetes or women who have had a baby that weighed more than 9 lb at birth are at higher risk
- Low birth weight; people who weighed less than 5.5 lb at birth are more likely to get type 2 diabetes later in life
- High visceral fat around the abdomen
- Smoking
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
On average, the participants identified eight of these factors. They were most likely to miss smoking, Asian race and Hispanic ethnicity.
For more information and to read the full article, click here.
Source: “Prediabetes Risk Unrecognized by Most PCPs” Aug. 5, 2017
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