Lowering Blood Sugar Significantly Reduces Heart Disease Risk In Prediabetes Patients; Finds Lancet Study

A recent study found that lowering blood sugar can help to reduce the chances of serious heart issues by more than 50 per cent in people with prediabetes. The study was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology and was conducted by researchers from King's College London. The study says that bringing blood glucose levels back to normal can effectively reverse prediabetes, cutting the risk of death from heart disease or hospital admission for heart failure.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) almost cause approximately 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke. WHO says that most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioural and environmental risk factors. Hence, managing blood sugar levels and bringing glucose levels to normal can help lower the risk of heart attack in people with prediabetes.

Prediabetes is a condition wherein an individual has higher than normal blood sugar level. However, it's not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes yet. Mayo Clinic says that without lifestyle changes, adults and children with prediabetes are at high risk to develop type 2 diabetes. "If you have prediabetes, the long-term damage of diabetes - especially to your heart, blood vessels and kidneys - may already be starting. There's good news, however. Progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes isn't inevitable."

Recent research reveals an important insight; lifestyle changes like exercise, weight loss, and better eating habits alone don't reduce the risk of cardiovascular risk in people with prediabetes. These findings on prediabetes remission highlight a new target for preventing heart disease, and how it could reshape clinical treatment entirely.

Dr Andreas Birkenfeld, Reader in Diabetes, King's College London and University Hospital Tuebingen and lead author of the study said, "This study challenges one of the biggest assumptions in modern preventative medicine. For years, people with prediabetes have been told that losing weight, exercising more and eating healthier will protect them from heart attacks and early death. While these lifestyle changes are unquestionably valuable, the evidence does not support that they reduce heart attacks or mortality in people with prediabetes. Instead, we show that remission of prediabetes is associated with a clear reduction in fatal cardiac events, heart failure, and all-cause mortality."

The study was led by Dr Andreas Birkenfeld from King's College London and University Hospital Tuebingen and the researchers analysed data from two diabetes prevention trials; the US Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS) and the Chinese DaQing Diabetes Prevention Outcomes Study (DaQingDPOS). Both of these are longitudinal studies wherein the researchers followed participants with prediabetes over several decades, with interventions including increasing exercise and eating a healthy diet.

The study found that people who achieved remission from prediabetes saw a 58 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalisation from heart failure. Researchers revealed that this effect persisted even decades after normalising glucose levels. This highlights the lasting impact of managing blood sugar levels.

The study also found that the risk of heart attack, stroke and other major adverse cardiovascular events was reduced by 42 per cent in people who had achieved prediabetes remission. The results were similar in both Chinese as well as US data.

Prior analyses of the studies show that combined lifestyle interventions, such as increased exercise and healthier eating, failed to lower cardiovascular disease risk. This implies that simply postponing diabetes onset offers no cardiovascular benefits without key metabolic improvements.

Dr Birkenfeld said, "The study findings mean that prediabetes remission could establish itself - alongside lowering blood pressure, cutting cholesterol and stopping smoking - as a fourth major primary prevention tool that truly prevents heart attacks and deaths."

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