Effort focuses on prediabetes screening
A new statewide initiative aimed at curbing Ohio’s high rate of type 2 diabetes is encouraging physicians to screen more people for prediabetes and refer those who are at risk to programs that spur lifestyle changes.
The American Medical Association effort is modeled after programs launched last year in California, Michigan and South Carolina. It was expanded into Ohio and seven other states this month.
The AMA is partnering in the project with the Ohio State Medical Association, which will reach out to physicians through its website, magazine, e-newsletters, emails and social media, to
provide them with prediabetes-specific tools and resources.
“A large number of Americans, certainly many of those living here in Ohio, may have prediabetes or may have type 2 diabetes already and not know it,” said Reggie Fields, spokesman for the state association. “We want to encourage and support physicians who want to do more to help patients by testing, diagnosing and treating prediabetes.”
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 percent to 95 percent of diabetes cases in Ohio, according to the association. In people with the condition, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin to properly regulate blood-sugar levels and, over time, that can lead to damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart.
Only about 10 percent of people with prediabetes are aware of it, according to the AMA.
Risk factors include excess weight, lack of exercise, high blood pressure and a family history of diabetes, said Brenda Rendelman, director of diabetes education for the Central Ohio Diabetes Association.
“Prediabetes is insidious and can be very silent, and this is why people have to be very proactive about their health and be tested at least annually and especially if they have risk factors,” she said.
In Ohio, 11 percent of adults have been told by a health-care professional that they have diabetes, ranking Ohio 35th among the states, according to 2015 data collected by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. Another 7.5 percent have been told they have prediabetes.
The condition has become a focus among doctors and officials around the state.
At the Ohio Department of Health, reducing diabetes is one of 10 priorities listed in a state healthimprovement plan completed this year.
The agency has been collaborating with the AMA and the state medical association to reach physicians and health systems to increase prediabetes testing and referrals, spokeswoman Melanie Amato said. Both associations also participated in a diabetes-prevention summit in July hosted by the health department with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors.
Ohio also has 103 diabetes-prevention programs recognized by the CDC, Amato said.
“The program helps make real lifestyle changes regarding eating healthier, increasing physical activity and improving problem-solving and coping skills,” Amato said. “Those who enroll and participate in the program can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent; 71 percent in those over the age of 60.”
Physicians around the state are aware of the importance of prediabetes screening and management, but may struggle to fit it into busy schedules, said Dr. Ryan Kauffman of Hickory Medical Direct Primary Care in Bellefontaine, a key advocate for a program of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians.
The academy program encourages screening for prediabetes and allows doctors to select prevention or management protocol.
It also helps physicians discover ways to involve nurses, other staff and community educators in the process, Kauffman said. And it helps them improve communication and empower patients to take an active role in their health care.
A prediabetes diagnosis, Kauffman said, can spur patients to make lifestyle changes that they were unwilling to make before.
“Certainly, we all know that early outreach and early changes make a big difference,” he said.