diabetes: are you at risk?

Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

If you’re over 45, ask your health care provider about testing for pre-diabetes or diabetes.

You should also ask about testing if you’re younger than 45, overweight, and have another risk factor, such as you:

• are 45 or older
• have a family history of diabetes
• are overweight
• have an inactive lifestyle (exercise less than three times a week)
• are a member of a high-risk ethnic population such as African American, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American or Pacific Islander
• have high blood pressure
• have a low HDL cholesterol level or a high triglyceride level
• have had diabetes that developed during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) or have given birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds
• have polycystic ovary syndrome, a disorder that affects the female reproductive system
• have acanthosis nigricans (dark, thick skin near neck or armpits)
• have a history of disease of the blood vessels to the heart, brain or legs
• have had an impaired glucose reading in a previous test

Posted: September 2006