Research Description
When a person has a blood sugar level that is higher than normal but is not considered high enough to be diabetes, this person is said to have prediabetes. Some people, but not everyone, with prediabetes will develop diabetes in their future. Some people may be able to prevent diabetes by starting a diet and exercise program or with use of a medication. Not everyone will benefit from these prevention programs and the benefits of each program are not the same. It is not easy to predict which people will and will not benefit from each of these programs. Also, it is not clear if groups of people with prediabetes and similar health factors will development of diabetes at the same rate. Knowing whether such groups of people differ in how they benefit from starting a diet and exercise program or medication will help target a diabetes prevention program to a specific person. The investigators propose to create a tool that can be used by a person to calculate their probability for developing diabetes based on a few health factors and how this probability might change after this individual starts a diet and exercise program or a medication. The investigators will also test whether there are groups of people with prediabetes and similar health factors who differ in the development of diabetes and whether a diet and exercise program or a medication are better at preventing or delaying diabetes for certain subgroups.Research Profile
What area of diabetes research does your project cover? What role will this particular project play in preventing, treating and/or curing diabetes?Our project focus is to help improve prevention of type 2 diabetes. Some people, but not everyone, with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Some people may be able to prevent type 2 diabetes by starting a diet and exercise program or with use of a medication though not everyone will benefit from these prevention programs and the benefits of each program are not the same for different people. Our project will create a tool that people can use to calculate their probability for developing type 2 diabetes based on a few health factors and how this probability might change after this individual starts a diet and exercise program or a medication to prevent type 2 diabetes. This information can be used to help people maximize their potential benefit for preventing type 2 diabetes. In addition, we will assess whether there are unique groups of people with prediabetes and similar health profiles who differ in the development of diabetes and whether a diet and exercise program or a medication are better at preventing or delaying diabetes for certain subgroups.
If a person with diabetes were to ask you how your project will help them in the future, how would you respond?Our project may not directly benefit someone who currently has diabetes but can help people at risk for developing diabetes in general and people who have family members with diabetes. Individuals who have family members with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes than people who do not have family members with type 2 diabetes. Our project can help individuals who do not have diabetes but have family members with diabetes by providing these people with information about what intervention may provide them with the most benefit to prevent type 2 diabetes in the future.
Why important for you, personally, to become involved in diabetes research? What role will this award play?I am dedicated to help people live healthy lives and improve the health of our communities. The prevalence of diabetes continues to rise in the US and around the globe and we need multi-faceted strategies to stop this increase. In addition to demanding population health approaches for diabetes prevention from our community, state, and national leaders, we should also give individuals resources and information they can use to help themselves prevent the development of diabetes. This award will support our work to develop a publicly available tool that clinicians and patients can use to understand their risk for type 2 diabetes and which prevention strategies may be most beneficial for them. This award will also support our work to better understand the unique biological processes critical to the development of type 2 diabetes and which preventive interventions may impact these biological processes.
In what direction do you see the future of diabetes research going?Clinical diabetes research is going to help improve diabetes treatment strategies and develop more personalized diabetes treatment approaches. These advances will be helpful, but diabetes research cannot ignore the community and environment in which individuals at risk for diabetes and persons with diabetes live. Diabetes research will need to help develop multi-faceted strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment that incorporate population-based and individualized components.