By Marc Dellière, Medical Consultant & Trainer – Specialist in Stress, Prevention & Integrative Health
As healthcare professionals, we know that diabetes is a complex chronic condition. But today, it has become much more than that: a global epidemic that is silently progressing, year after year. And before it, there is often an inconspicuous stage that is too often overlooked: prediabetes.
The facts (IDF Diabetes Atlas, 2021)
- 537 million adults live with diabetes.
- 783 million are expected to do so by 2045.
- 541 million have glucose intolerance (prediabetes).
- And every year, diabetes causes 6.7 million deaths, or about 1 every 5 seconds.
Our responsibility
- Early screening (fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, HGPO).
- Explaining that prediabetes is a therapeutic opportunity.
- Support concrete changes: physical activity, diet, stress management.
- Recognize every patient who avoids progressing to diabetes: it is a medical and societal victory.
The human dimension
- Behind these figures are lives turned upside down, families impacted, and preventable complications.
- But there is also hope: The Diabetes Prevention Program (NEJM, 2002) showed that an appropriate lifestyle can reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 58%. Every screening, every support program, can prevent an irreversible shift.
Key takeaway
Diabetes can be controlled. Prediabetes can be prevented.
Learn more about Pep2Dia for glucose management!
Sources:
- International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th ed., 2021.
- Knowler WC, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:393-403. PMID: 11832527