Canadian Diabetes Association: Everyone over 50 Should Get an A1c Test

It’s estimated a third of Canadians will have either diabetes or prediabetes by 2020. "Pre-diabetes I like to think of as the waiting room to diabetes," said guideline chair and Toronto endocrinologist Dr. Alice Cheng. "We want to be able to identify who is sitting in that waiting room and get them out of there." Through lifestyle interventions such as diet changes, exercise, losing weight, quitting smoking and self management of blood glucose levels, the group aims to prevent people with prediabetes from worsening. In some cases, blood sugar- and cholesterol-lowering drugs will also be prescribed. The ultimate goal of the guidelines is to avoid serious complications from diabetes such as kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes. Canadian Diabetes Association April, 2013