Diabetes is a disease which may come on silently without any signs or symptoms.
By Maylene Fong : Why do you need a fire alarm in your house? It is because you want to be warned of any fire hazard and act on it right away to prevent a full scale fire. Diabetes is a disease which may come on silently without any signs or symptoms. However, there is a period called “prediabetes” before a person progresses into diabetes. Prediabetes is the early warning which signals you to take steps to prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes from developing.
Prediabetes is a state when your blood glucose is above normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Though not everyone who has prediabetes may develop into diabetes, many will. Research has shown that some of the long term complications related to diabetes, such as heart disease and nerve damage may start during prediabetes.
What are the risk factors of type 2 diabetes? Being 40 years of age or older, having a close relative who has type 2 diabetes, being Aboriginal, Hispanic, Asian, South Asian or African descent; having a history of impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose, having some evidence of the complications of diabetes, such as eye, nerve, kidney or heart disease; having high blood pressure and high cholesterol and being overweight especially around the abdomen are all risk factors related to type 2 diabetes.
The good news is that research has shown when you have prediabetes, it is NOT too late to take steps to delay or prevent diabetes. Simple measures such as increasing physical activity, eating a more healthy diet, losing 5 to 10 % of your total body weight and stop smoking can help to delay or prevent diabetes.
Now there is a chance for you to be assessed for your risk of diabetes by completing a research questionnaire called “CANRISK” and get a chance to go for the oral glucose tolerance blood test (OGTT). This research is funded by Public Health Agency of Canada and is headed by Vancouver Coastal Health Healthy Living Program in British Columbia.
What are the benefits of participating in the study? You will receive personalized information about your risk factors for diabetes. You will learn about ways to prevent chronic disease like diabetes. You will receive information on community resources and learn ways to keep yourself and your family healthy in your community.
To find out more about the Prediabetes Research Project, please call Healthy Living Program at 604-267-4430 for detailed information or send an email to: prediabetesresearch@vch.ca.
You are invited to participate in a research study about your risk of developing
Type 2 diabetes.
The participants will complete a short questionnaire and a blood test.
A small amount of money will be paid to compensate for your time.
For more information contact: Hilary King
604-929-1837 hilaryjking@shaw.ca
Vancouver Coastal Health, Healthy Living Program
This project is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
