Prediabetes means that blood sugars are higher than usual, but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. There is a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Prediabetes is also sometimes called borderline diabetes. Higher than normal blood sugars can be detected via blood tests. The medical terms for higher-than-normal blood sugars are:
- Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG)
- Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT)
- Impaired Glucose Regulation (IGR)
- Non-diabetic hyperglycaemia
Screening and Risk Communication
NHS health check NHS Health Check – Home
Know your risk calculator Diabetes UK – Know Your Risk of Type 2 diabetes
Individual risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
- weight (a body mass index [BMI] of 25kg/m2 or more)
- a large waist circumference (more than 80 cm or 31.5 inches in women and 94 cm or 37 inches in men)
- low physical activity levels
- a family history of type 2 diabetes,
- a history of gestational diabetes
- age (being older than 40 or older than 25 for some black and minority ethnic groups).
In addition, people from the following communities are particularly at risk: those of South Asian, African-Caribbean, black African and Chinese descent and those from lower socioeconomic groups.
The more risk factors someone has, the more likely they are to develop diabetes (Harding et al. 2006).
From <https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph35/chapter/2-Public-health-need-and-practice>
Guidelines
It is critical people know how to self-manage their health. The National Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP) runs over 9 months with 13 sessions lasting 1-2 hours. Online and face to face sessions are available. NHS diabetes programme NHS England » NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP)
Description of prediabetes//IFG/IGT/IGR – diagnosis & symptoms Prediabetes | Diabetes UK | Reduce risk type 2 diabetes
NICE guidelines pre diabetes Overview | Type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk | Guidance | NICE
NICE type 2 diabetes prevention: population and community-level interventions Overview | Type 2 diabetes prevention: population and community-level interventions | Guidance | NICE
NICE type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk – Evidence and backing research for Pre Diabetes Evidence | Type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk | Guidance | NICE
NICE type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk – guidance and recommendations Recommendations | Type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk | Guidance | NICE
- 1.1 Risk assessment
- 1.2 Encouraging people to have a risk assessment
- 1.3 Risk identification (stage 1)
- 1.4 Risk identification (stage 2)
- 1.5 Matching interventions to risk
- 1.6 Reassessing risk
- 1.7 Commissioning risk identification and intensive lifestyle-change programmes
- 1.8 Quality-assured, intensive lifestyle-change programmes: design and delivery
- 1.9 Quality-assured, intensive lifestyle-change programmes: content
- 1.10 Quality-assured, intensive lifestyle-change programmes: evaluation
- 1.11 Raising awareness of the importance of physical activity
- 1.12 Providing tailored advice on physical activity
- 1.13 Weight management advice
- 1.14 Dietary advice
- 1.15 Vulnerable groups: information and services
- 1.16 Vulnerable groups: supporting lifestyle change
- 1.17 Intensive lifestyle-change programmes: quality assurance
From <https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/PH38/chapter/Recommendations#matching-interventions-to-risk>
Patient Resources
Many people value foundation information to understand and manage their health. There are plenty of resources in different formats.
Diabetes UK https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/types-of-diabetes/type-2/prediabetes
Pre diabetes and ethnicity Ethnicity and type 2 diabetes | Preventing diabetes | Diabetes UK
Healthier You NHS Diabetes Programme Healthier You | Diabetes Prevention Programme (preventing-diabetes.co.uk)
Easy Read
This information focuses on self- care. It uses Leeds’s format of easy read. It is for people with a learning disability. It can be helpful for people with low literacy or where English is not a person’s first language. Learning Disability Service Leeds Pre diabetes