Delaying the onset of the disease can reduce the risk of heart disease and death

In the new study, researchers examined the health consequences of 540 people with prediabetes who had a previous study A study conducted in China known as the Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Study.

In this study, participants were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three intervention groups. The intervention groups included a 6-year program of healthy eating, regular exercise, or both. The researchers followed the participants for an average of 30 years after the interventions.

In the new analysis, researchers found that people whose diabetes diagnosis was delayed for at least four years after the initial prediabetes diagnosis had a lower risk of dying from any cause or having a cardiovascular event such as coronary heart disease, stroke or heart failure.

Compared to people who had diabetes before, they had a lower risk of diabetes-related eye, kidney or nerve problems.

In addition, people whose diabetes diagnosis was delayed for at least six years had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than people whose diabetes was diagnosed earlier.

No protective effect was observed in individuals whose diabetes diagnosis was delayed for less than four years.

“This suggests that a longer diabetes-free period may reduce the risk of long-term adverse outcomes,” the authors wrote in the study. “Interventions, including but not limited to lifestyle changes, to prolong diabetes-free time in people with prediabetes may be critical.”

Senior pointed out that both the original Da Qing study and the U.S. National Diabetes Prevention Program had shown that it was possible to prevent the development of diabetes.

The National Diabetes Prevention Program is a lifestyle change program that focuses on healthy eating and physical activity. Research has shown that people with prediabetes who participated in this program reduced their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58%.

“We have also learned over the years that if you, as a diabetic, are able to keep your blood sugar levels within the target range, it is beneficial in the long run,” Senior said.

“So if you have someone who has diabetes and you work with them intensively, even if it’s just for five or 10 years, it’s going to give them better long-term health decades later than those who are left to their own devices.”

However, if you wait to check your blood sugar, you may not achieve the same long-term health benefits as someone who started earlier.

Senior compares it to saving for retirement: It’s better to start putting money aside when you’re 20 than to wait until you’re 50. However, in this case, you’re also buying health insurance benefits.

The new study, he said, extends that thinking to a period before people develop diabetes.

“When we change lifestyle, it means that a person’s diabetes is delayed,” he said. “And even if you develop diabetes later, you’re still at an advantage over people who developed diabetes much earlier.”

The new study involved people who suffered from prediabetes, meaning they had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

One public health approach would be to identify people at increased risk of diabetes and focus intensive interventions on them. This is the approach taken by the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

“But if the intervention includes healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, then there’s no harm in that,” Senior said. “So we recommend it for everyone, perhaps with additional coaching for those who are most at risk (for diabetes).”

Although a healthy diet and regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Senior warns against viewing diabetes as merely a “lifestyle disease.”

“Behavior, lifestyle and the situations people find themselves in all affect the age at which they develop diabetes,” he said.

But genetics also plays an important role in the development of diabetes.

“There are people who are definitely destined to get diabetes,” he said. “In their case, it may be more about postponing diabetes until later in life, and that is still very worthwhile.”

Still, “there’s a danger that we’re reinforcing the stigma of diabetes,” he said. “If someone gets diabetes, they might be blamed for eating the wrong foods or not doing enough of the right things.”

But “that misunderstands the nature of diabetes,” he said. “There will be people who get diabetes even though they were very careful with their lifestyle, but got diabetes because of their genes.”

Researchers examined the health effects of people with prediabetes who participated in a previous study, comparing lifestyle interventions – healthy diet, exercise, or both – with no intervention.

People who delayed the onset of diabetes for 4 years or more had a lower risk of dying from any cause or having a cardiovascular event such as coronary heart disease, stroke or heart failure. They also had a lower risk of diabetes-related eye, kidney or nerve problems.

Other research has shown that lifestyle programs such as healthy eating and physical activity can reduce a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, genetics also play a role in whether someone develops diabetes.