One in six people with pre-diabetes will have heart attack within 8 years: Dutch study
Approximately one in six people who are in the preliminary stages of type 2 diabetes will have a heart attack or stroke within eight years of getting the condition, the Telegraaf reports from a new study by researchers at Maastricht University Medical Center Plus (MUMC+). Around 1.4 million people in the Netherlands have pre-diabetes, so that amounts to hundreds of thousands of Dutch walking around with a time bomb in their bodies.
It was previously thought that people with pre-diabetes do not yet suffer any health damage. But the Maastricht researchers now found that this is not true. Because they struggle with high blood sugar levels, their arteries can become clogged, preventing sufficient blood flow to the heart or brain.
“It is good that we have been able to establish this,” diabetes doctor Martijn Brouwers of MUMC+, who is involved in the study, told the newspaper. He hopes the study will prompt people to adopt a healthier lifestyle - stop smoking, eat better, and get enough exercise.
He hopes that the government will do more to promote healthier lifestyles. “That can be done, for example, by providing subsidies to sports clubs,” Brouwers said. Lowering the VAT on healthy food is also a good idea. Such measures will put a healthy lifestyle within reach for people who currently can’t afford it.
Diena Halbertsma, director of the Diabetes Fund, told the Telegraaf that she was shocked by the study’s results. But she stressed that pre-diabetes can be reversed. “The sooner you catch it, the more serious health damage you can prevent.”
Part of the problem is that people often don’t know that they are pre-diabetic. The condition’s symptoms are typically vague, such as feeling tired or thirsty. The Diabetes Fund has a test on its website where people can see if they are at an increased risk of diabetes. “If this is the case, you can go to your GP. With a blood test, they can determine whether you do indeed have pre-diabetes,” Halbertsma said.
