COULD DOCTORS DETECT IT YEARS BEFORE IT STRIKES?

DIABETES warning signs could be picked up years before even pre-diabetes is diagnosed, according to some researchers.

One study, which followed 6,500 civil servants over a ten-year period, found it was possible to detect subtle early changes in blood glucose and insulin-resistance in those who went on to develop type 2 diabetes several years later.

The study, by scientists at University College London, suggested it may be possible to pick up ‘pre-pre-diabetes’ – which means action could be taken even sooner to protect the health of those most at risk.

Researchers monitored the group’s blood sugar levels and ability of their tissues to respond to the hormone insulin, involved in blood sugar control, over time.

Those who went on to develop type 2 – 505 people – showed a rapid acceleration in blood sugar levels which began three years before they were diagnosed with the condition. Their sensitivity to insulin also dropped steeply during the five years before diagnosis.

There were also changes noticed to the behaviour of the type of pancreatic cells that produce insulin.

Their activity increased in the three to four years before diagnosis, and then dropped as they struggled to cope with higher sugar levels.

Lead researcher Dr Adam Tabak said: ‘The most important message to come out of this kind of research is to explain how the disease develops and what its history is. We know lifestyle intervention can prevent more than 50 per cent of cases of type 2.’

But he added that it would be hugely expensive and time-consuming to intervene at this stage, and others warned more research was needed before such early tests could be reliable enough.