TORONTO - The Canadian Diabetes Association has released new guidelines for doctors aimed at identifying patients at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.
The association says up to six million Canadians have prediabetes and a quarter of them are at risk of developing full-blown diabetes within three to five years.
Research has shown that damage to the cardiovascular system can begin in patients with prediabetes, putting them at risk for premature death from a heart attack.
More than two million Canadians have full-blown diabetes and up to 80 per cent will die from heart disease.
Toronto diabetes specialist Dr. Gillian Booth says patients with prediabetes need to make lifestyle changes and possibly begin taking medications to prevent the onset of diabetes.
Booth says studies have shown that moderate weight loss and regular exercise can delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes by up to 58 per cent.
