15.9% of workers, practically one in every six, shows alterations linked to a higher risk of diabetes even when their glucose levels are below 110 mg/dl. In addition, 6.4% manifests this type of alteration with values lower than 90 mg/dl, considered normal, according to a study carried out by the Epidemiological Unit of Quirónprevención.
The research, released in the journal of the Sociedad Española de Medicina General (SEMG), is based on the analysis of 301,714 occupational medical examinations and highlights that having blood glucose figures within normal range does not necessarily mean the absence of metabolic risk.
Along these lines, the authors of the work warn that insulin resistance can act as an early indicator of metabolic risk many years before clear alterations in blood glucose are detected and a diagnosis of diabetes is confirmed.
Based on these findings, the authors insist on the desirability of integrating the measurement of insulin resistance into health check-ups in the workplace environment, with the aim of strengthening early detection and the prevention of type 2 diabetes. In this way, it would be possible to intervene on the factors that trigger the disease before complications associated with it develop.
Along with the direct health benefits for the workforce, the researchers point out that this line of prevention could help reduce the economic impact of diabetes, cutting both health spending and losses of productivity derived from the disease and its possible sequelae.