Most patients at diabetes risk consider themselves healthy

(HealthDay)—Nearly 80 percent of patients at elevated risk for type 2 diabetes think they are in excellent or very good health, according to a new survey from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Noting that the American Medical Association is focusing on preventing type 2 diabetes and heart disease and improving outcomes for patients, and that about 79 million Americans have prediabetes, the ADA surveyed more than 1,400 consumers aged 40 years and older and 601 physicians and other health care professionals.

According to the results, less than half of at-risk patients reported discussing factors such as blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol with their physicians. However, physicians reported discussing diabetes and heart disease prevention with their at-risk patients, suggesting that patients do not connect risk factors to disease development More than half of patients reported that doctors regularly discussed weight and physical activity, but these risk factors were at the lowest at-goal rates.

"These findings suggest it is critical for providers to connect the dots with patients between risk factors and disease development," Virginia Peragallo-Dittko, R.N., C.D.E., incoming chair of the ADA's Prevention Committee, said in a statement. "Providers think their at-risk patients are making the link between risk factors and heart attack, diabetes, and death, but a quarter of these patients report they don't even have any health problems. We have to close the gap if we want to prevent future development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease."