New Research Study Could Help Predict Diabetes Cases

Older women are at an increased risk of developing diabetes, but a new study is opening the possibility of predicting who will develop the disease.

According to Ernestine A. Wright, M.D., FACP, a board-certified primary care doctor and geriatrics specialist with Mercy Personal Physicians Downtown in Baltimore, women with diabetes have a three to four times higher risk of developing heart disease when compared to women without diabetes.

Hormonal changes in women during menopause can make diabetes more difficult to control. It can also increase complications like coronary artery disease. New research, though, could be a game changer.

“Researchers followed people for about 12 years before they actually developed diabetes mellitus, and it showed that they had elevated levels of some amino acids and proteins that predicted that they had 12 times the risk of developing diabetes compared to individuals who did not have those proteins,” Dr. Wright said.

The research is still in its early stages. Dr. Wright noted that if doctors could identify patients who are more likely to develop diabetes, intervention could start earlier, providing a huge breakthrough for diabetes care.

View Mercy primary care physician Dr. Ernestine Wright’s interview regarding ways to predict diabetes in patients.