At present, national guidelines disagree on who should be screened for undiagnosed diabetes and there is no existing diabetes risk score that healthcare providers can rely upon. In the December 1, 2009 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers report on an easy-to-use diabetes screening score that seems to better than what’s currently available for detecting undiagnosed diabetes.

Scientists from Cornell and Columbia University and their colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in order to develop a new diabetes screening score and then compare it with other available diabetes screening instruments, such as those developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes Association. Study participants were U.S. adults aged 20 years or older. The researchers found that age, gender, family history of diabetes, history of high blood pressure, obesity, and physical inactivity were associated with undiagnosed diabetes. A score of 5 or more points on the diabetes screening score selected 35% of people for diabetes screening with a fairly high sensitivity (ability to correctly identify people with previously undiagnosed diabetes).

Based on their findings, the researchers conclude that this easy-to-use diabetes self-assessment screening score seems to demonstrate improvements over existing diabetes screening methods. However, this study would need to be validated among diverse populations in real-world settings before it could be recommended for diabetes screening.

Source:

Ann Int Med 2009;151(11):775-783.