Do you know your risk of developing type 2 diabetes?
Keep reading and find out
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing globally and accounts for a substantial portion of American medical care costs. The good news: You can prevent type 2 diabetes with better lifestyle choices, especially Keep Moving and Eat Better. Several quick and reliable screening tools, as noted below, can tell you if you’re at high risk of developing diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association developed a type 2 diabetes risk test using published data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The test takes 60 seconds to complete. The factors include 1) age (higher risk with more birthdays), 2) gender (higher risk for men), 3) mother, father, sister, or brother with type 2 diabetes (higher risk with a family history of diabetes), 4) ever diagnosed with high blood pressure (higher risk for this condition), 5) physical activity (higher risk for inactive people), 6) race or ethnicity (higher risk for certain groups), and 7) height and weight (higher weight to height ratio increases risk). The American Diabetes Association website calculates your risk of type 2 diabetes on a scale of 0-10. Hopefully, your score will put you in a low-risk category. Find out now!
Researchers in Finland developed the FINDRISC Diabetes Risk Calculator, a screening tool using nationally representative data from Finland. Candidate factors were significantly related to type 2 diabetes risk and readily determinable to clinicians without laboratory testing. The final model included seven factors.
A company called QXMD developed an online version of the FINDRISC Diabetes Risk Calculator to identify patients at risk of developing diabetes. The online calculator requires only a minute of your time. The FINDRISC factors include age, body-mass index, physical activity, vegetable and fruit consumption, medical treatment of hypertension, history of high blood sugar, and family history to calculate your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A risk score of 0-14 points indicates a low to moderate risk of diabetes. This risk equates to a 1 to17 percent chance of diabetes over 10 years.
Dr. Simon J. Griffin developed the Cambridge Diabetes Risk Score algorithm. It was originally designed to identify people at high risk of having undiagnosed diabetes. You can use the online version to find the likelihood that you have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
Do yourself a favor and find your risk of developing or having undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. If you have a high risk, see your medical care provider for advice. You will probably be urged to ramp up your physical activity (Keep Moving) and improve your diet (Eat Better). If you embrace these healthy lifestyle choices in your daily life, you’ll likely avoid type 2 diabetes and its many complications, including amputations, kidney disease, and blindness.
