Pre-Diabetes

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The blood test use to diagnose diabetes is called HbA1c.

If your result is between 42 and 48, you do not have diabetes but this result is higher than expected and puts you in a category called “pre-diabetes”.

If you have pre-diabetes your blood sugar is raised beyond the normal range but it is not so high that you have diabetes. However, if you have pre-diabetes you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Around half of people with pre-diabetes will develop diabetes within ten years. It is also thought that having pre-diabetes increases your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke (cardiovascular diseases).

There is increasing evidence that if pre-diabetes is treated, the progression to diabetes can be prevented. Also, it may be possible to prevent cardiovascular disease from developing. So, it is important to know if you have pre-diabetes and to treat it in order to reduce your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In general, the treatments for pre-diabetes do not involve taking medication.

NHS Camden runs a Diabetes Prevention Programme for both English speakers and non-English speakers. We  strongly recommend that anyone diagnosed with pre-diabetes finds out more about it and consider joining (you will need your blood test result and your NHS number in order to register):

Visit the Preventing Diabetes website

The information and the videos from the link below are useful to understand more about pre-diabetes and your health:

Visit the Patient Info website

Please do not hesitate to book a face-to-face or telephone appointment should you wish to discuss this further.