NEW ORLEANS, Jun 10, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Screening adults for diabetes
could result in significant cost savings for healthcare systems, U.S.
researchers said.
Dr. Lawrence S. Phillips of Emory University School of Medicine Professor of
Medicine in Atlanta said his research team screened 1,259 adults who had never
been diagnosed with diabetes.
"The economic costs of diabetes threaten the financial integrity of our
healthcare systems," Phillips, co-author of the study, said in a statement.
The volunteer participants underwent four screening tests, including random
plasma and capillary glucose, and a 50 gram oral glucose challenge test with
plasma and capillary glucose measured one hour after the glucose drink.
All participants also had a definitive 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test
performed in the morning after an overnight fast.
The researchers found that 24 percent of the adults screened had either diabetes
or prediabetes.
The researchers said the cost of screening and three years of treatment with
metformin or change in lifestyle for individuals found to have prediabetes or
previously unrecognized diabetes would be lower than costs associated with not
screening.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes
Association in New Orleans.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International