New research shows young people with prediabetes have an increased risk of heart attack.

“By taking into account various influencing and modifying factors, scientists were able to find that young people with prediabetes were 1.7 times more likely to develop heart attacks compared to their peers without prediabetes,” said Dr. Akhil Jain, co-author of the new study..

Prediabetes is characterized by higher levels of blood sugar, and most often leads to the development of type 2 diabetes.. More than a third of Americans over the age of 18 (88 million) have prediabetes, according to the US National Institutes of Health.. Nearly 29 million of them are under 45.

In this study, researchers analyzed nationwide data on more than 7.8 million heart attack-related hospitalizations in a population aged 18-44.. About 0.4% of patients had blood sugar levels indicative of prediabetes. Heart attack rate was 2.15% among people with prediabetes compared to 0.3% among people with normal blood sugar levels. Also, in most study participants, prediabetes was also accompanied by an increase in blood cholesterol levels..

The study was presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions held Friday and Saturday in Reston, Virginia.. Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed medical journal..

“Despite having a higher chance of having a heart attack, young people with prediabetes did not have higher incidences of other serious adverse cardiovascular events such as cardiac arrest or stroke,” Jane said in a press release from the meeting..

Young people should be aware of the importance of regular health check-ups, including screening for prediabetes, and they should take steps to prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes and related cardiovascular events such as a heart attack, Jane added..

Prediabetes can be reversed with the following lifestyle changes: healthy eating, physical activity, weight loss, smoking cessation, and stress reduction.

medical-heal. en.