Prediabetes occurs when a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Risk factors for developing prediabetes:
- Being overweight
- Not being physically active
- Having a family history of diabetes
- Women who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy
Take steps now to change your future
Research shows that if you take action to manage your blood sugar levels when you have prediabetes or are at risk of prediabetes, you can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. Weight loss, healthy eating and increasing physical activity/exercise are effective ways to treat prediabetes. There is a proven program that can help you prevent or delay getting type 2 diabetes – the National Diabetes Prevention Program, and it’s offered by the Bryan Diabetes Center.
Learn more about this prediabetes program.
People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin because their bodies produce little or no insulin. Type 1 diabetes was once called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes. It usually develops in children, teens and young adults, but it can happen at any age.
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not as clear as for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Known risk factors include:
- Family history: Having a parent, brother or sister with type 1 diabetes
- Age: You can get type 1 diabetes at any age, but it usually develops in children, teens or young adults
In the United States, White people are more likely to develop type 1 diabetes than African American and Hispanic or Latino people.
Learn more about type 1 diabetes, why screening is important and how to order a free screening test.
Managing diabetes
Controlling your blood sugar levels is the key to managing your diabetes. It is best practice to use continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and pumps. Healthy eating, exercise, blood glucose (sugar) testing and monitoring, and insulin as prescribed, are important for effective control.
Education and support can help you be successful in managing your blood sugar levels.
Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. It occurs when your body either does not produce enough insulin or cannot use the insulin produced properly. Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition.
You may be at risk to develop diabetes if you have the following:
- Over age 40
- Being overweight, waist circumference 35 inches or greater for women; 40 inches or greater for men
- A close family member (parent or sibling) with diabetes
- Diabetes during pregnancy or giving birth to a baby weighing over nine pounds
- Being of African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American or Pacific Islander or Native American descent
- High blood pressure
- High triglyceride levels and low levels of HDL (the good cholesterol)
- Being diagnosed with prediabetes
Take this online Type 2 diabetes quiz and find out if you could have or be at risk for Type 2 diabetes.
Managing diabetes
Controlling your blood sugar levels is the key to managing your diabetes. It is best practice to use continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and pumps. Healthy eating, exercise, blood glucose (sugar) testing and monitoring, and insulin as prescribed, are important for effective control.
Education and support can help you be successful in managing your blood sugar levels.
Gestational diabetes, or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than they should be during pregnancy for a woman who does not have diabetes. This happens because the placenta produces many hormones that make it difficult to keep blood sugar levels in normal ranges.
About 10 percent of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes. The exact cause is unknown, however, some women are at greater risk. Risk factors include:
- Being age 25 or older
- Having a prediabetes or a close family member such as a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
- Having had gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy, if you delivered a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds or if you had an unexplained stillbirth
- Being overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher
- Being of nonwhite race
Learn more about our Gestational Diabetes Program.
