A prospective cohort study from researchers at University Hospital of North Norway suggests that diabetic kidney damage caused by continually high blood sugar levels may begin during prediabetes, which is much earlier than previously thought. For more than five years, the study followed 1261 people without diabetes between the ages of 50 and 62. At the beginning of the study, 595 of those participants had prediabetes. The researchers found that those with prediabetes exhibited early signs of kidney injury, including hyperfiltration and albuminuria. Hyperfiltration, an increase in kidney filtration, can occur early on in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Though this study only included older white participants, the research is compelling, suggesting that preventive measures to tackle diabetes and kidney disease must begin much earlier, during prediabetes.
Sources:
Diabetic Kidney Damage May Start Earlier Than Thought, Medical Xpress, December 30, 2015
Prediabetes and Risk of Glomerular Hyperfiltration and Albuminuria in the General Nondiabetic Population: A Prospective Cohort Study, American Journal of Kidney Disease, December 29, 2015