Pre-diabetes is a common health problem that is often overlooked or underdiagnosed due to a lack of public awareness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the approximately 96 million people living with the condition, more than 80 percent are unaware they have it.
A study in Hong Kong conducted by the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) analyzed the clinical data of 2 million people and found that prediabetic patients diagnosed at an average age of 20 have a risk as high as 90 percent of developing diabetes at a later age. There is also evidence that these young people have a nearly 70 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Relevant research has been published in the international medical journals PLoS Medicine, and The Lancet Regional Health—Western Pacific.
