Pre-diabetes is not a new disease, although many people think it is. The condition has always existed; it’s just that formal recognition of the condition has not. And like our weight, it is growing at an alarmingly rapid rate.
When a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes, that person is said to have pre-diabetes. It is estimated that 40 percent of U.S. adults between the ages of 40 and 74 (41 million people) have pre-diabetes. It is estimated that 11 percent of people with pre-diabetes eventually develop type 2 diabetes within three years and many others develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years.
“Whether you identify something as a medical condition or not, the important thing to understand about pre-diabetes is that the best way to treat this condition is by eating healthier, becoming more active, and losing weight,” says Michael Parkinson, MD, senior consultant in health and productivity for UPMC Health Plan.
Smart Business spoke to Dr. Parkinson about pre-diabetes and its impact on the work force.
Is pre-diabetes a new condition?
No. What is new is that it is becoming better understood because, unfortunately, it’s more prevalent now than it was 10 years ago. By coining the term ‘pre-diabetes,’ we call attention to the fact that higher than normal blood glucose levels can lead to diabetes. And diabetes is a documented risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney and other diseases.
It is important to realize that 90 percent of all diabetes is type 2 — predominantly caused by being overweight. As we put on the pounds, we increase the number of pre-diabetics — and diabetics — as the disease progresses over time.
Why should employers be concerned about pre-diabetes?
Simply put, the growth of pre-diabetes is an indicator of the health, cost, productivity and competitive challenges that they face. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2008, 68 percent of U.S. adults and 32 percent of children are overweight or obese. What that means is that — conservatively speaking — medical spending for obesity-related conditions accounts for 10 percent of total health care costs. More importantly, the average adult life expectancy in this country may actually be decreasing. It is possible that, on average, children may live two to five years less than their parents.
Employers can have a substantial effect on improving health, preventing or reducing pre-diabetes in their employees. Therefore, the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes are ‘sentinel’ indicators of progress toward increasing performance, improving health and reducing health care costs.
