Prediabetes Remission Linked to Decades-Long Heart-Protection, Study Finds

Two long-term international studies published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology show that lowering blood sugar to normal levels in people with prediabetes through lifestyle changes could cut future heart problems by about half. The research pools data from a 20-year American study and a 30-year Chinese study, tracking whether people who achieved remission from prediabetes saw fewer cardiovascular events over time.

In both cohorts, participants who reached prediabetes remission—blood sugar returned to normal levels through diet and exercise targeting weight loss—had a 58% lower risk of dying from heart disease and being hospitalized for heart failure. Those in the remission group also showed a lower risk of other major heart events and lower overall mortality, and the benefits appeared to persist for decades after the programs ended. The researchers noted that remission is associated with substantial long-term protection for heart health, even in diverse populations.

The studies' authors emphasized that the link between prediabetes remission and reduced cardiovascular risk may reflect the effects of sustained lifestyle changes, including diet and physical activity that promote weight loss. In an interview with Fox News Digital, study co-author Dr. Andreas Birkenfeld, a professor of medicine at the University Hospital Tübingen in Germany, said reaching remission is not only relevant for preventing progression to type 2 diabetes but could also be associated with meaningful reductions in heart attack risk, cardiac death and heart failure. The researchers noted that reaching prediabetes remission is linked to a decades-long benefit, halving the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure in diverse populations, per the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology report.

The researchers noted limitations in the analysis: the trials were not originally designed to measure cardiovascular outcomes, so the results show association rather than causation. Unmeasured lifestyle and health factors, population differences and the lack of randomization for heart outcomes may have influenced the findings. Birkenfeld suggested that people with prediabetes discuss with their doctors questions like current status, personal cardiovascular risk, target blood glucose level, frequency of blood sugar and risk-factor monitoring, and whether medication could be appropriate if lifestyle changes are insufficient.

About 98 million American adults, more than one in three, have prediabetes, according to CDC data. Eight in 10 of these adults are unaware that they have the disease.