Not at the proper level: every fifth person may be at risk of developing diabetes
Russian laboratories have become more likely to detect elevated blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) in Russians, as well as excess insulin and glycated hemoglobin, Izvestia found out. This indicates, in particular, the growing prevalence of prediabetes or already diabetes. In a number of laboratories, the number of results with elevated sugar levels in adult patients is up to 20%. At the same time, Russians themselves are increasingly becoming more wary of these diseases — the number of tests for such indicators is steadily increasing. About those who are at risk, and how to control the disease that has already occurred — in the material of Izvestia.
What does an elevated glucose level mean?
One in five patients over the age of 18 has elevated glucose levels, analysts of the Invitro Index project told Izvestia. They processed the figures of those who applied to the medical network in 2021-2024.
— The number of conducted studies has increased over the years. So, in 2024, 37% more tests for the determination of glucose in the blood were performed in total than in 2021, the company added.
They explained that the data indicate a widespread occurrence of carbohydrate metabolism disorders: it can be prediabetes, diabetes mellitus, or transient hyperglycemia — a temporary increase in blood glucose levels, usually caused by severe stress.
The increase in the number of such results was confirmed to Izvestia by the Hemotest laboratory. Thus, glycated hemoglobin, which is given for early diagnosis of diabetes and prediabetes, was higher than normal in 12.1% of patients in 2024, and insulin was higher than normal in 13.1%.
—Glycated hemoglobin was higher than normal in 17.5% of men and 12.1% of women," the company said. — Insulin is higher than normal in 15.6% of men and 12.5% of women.
Glycated hemoglobin is a generalized indicator of blood sugar levels for three months, explained endocrinologist and nutritionist Alexey Kalinchev. The higher its level, the greater the risk of developing complications of diabetes mellitus. And insulin is a hormone that plays a key role in regulating blood sugar levels, he added.
— In a healthy person, the insulin level is adjusted automatically depending on the concentration of glucose in the blood. For example, after eating, when sugar levels rise, the pancreas secretes more insulin. If the level of its content is higher, it indicates a violation of carbohydrate metabolism," the expert explained.
In 2024, almost 4% of those who tested for glucose levels were above the norm, the Hemotest added, but it took into account the figures for only 12 months.
— For men who applied for this study, it is higher than the norm in 4.2%, for women — in 2.7%, — they specified.
About 20 million people in Russia suffer from prediabetes, Marina Shestakova, deputy director of the National Research Institute of Endocrinology and director of the Diabetes Institute, reminded Izvestia. Against this background, type 2 diabetes then occurs, she added. With prediabetes, insulin production is reduced and blood sugar levels are elevated.
"It is this condition that is characterized by impaired glucose uptake — the development of insulin resistance," Marina Shestakova emphasized.
The clinics interviewed by Izvestia also reported a steady increase in such indicators. Thus, in Medsi, the glucose level was increased in 6% of those who took the appropriate tests, and in UNI Clinics this proportion was significantly higher — 25-30%. In 2021, this figure was 19%, they specified.
What is the norm of blood sugar?
Normally, blood sugar should not exceed 5.5 mmol/l. If its fasting level ranges from 5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L, the patient has prediabetes, said Ulvia Gulizade, an endocrinologist at the UNI Clinic Medical Center. If the indicator is higher, then the diagnosis is "diabetes mellitus".
In the Russian Federation, the number of patients with diabetes mellitus has more than doubled over the past 20 years: from 2 million to more than 5 million people, including more than 1 million patients over the past five years. This is stated in the study "Epidemiology and key clinical and therapeutic indicators of diabetes mellitus in the Russian Federation in the context of WHO strategic goals", published in early 2025. Among its authors are Ivan Dedov, chief freelance endocrinologist at the Ministry of Health, Marina Shestakova, and Olga Vikulova, Head of the Department of Epidemiology of Endocrinopathies.
"But even these figures of threatening statistics do not reflect the depth of the problem, since they only take into account the diagnosed and registered patients," the document says.
Natalia Balashova, Associate Professor of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics at the Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences named after M.F. Vladimirsky, also stated that not everyone checks the necessary indicators as part of a medical examination, and those who reach clinics or have a result indicating that they exceed the standards do not turn to doctors after that.
It is especially important to monitor glucose levels for people 45 years of age and older, with a hereditary predisposition to diabetes, low physical activity, overweight and obese, as well as with cardiovascular diseases, said Elena Aleksentseva, pediatrician at Invitro.
"If blood glucose levels are not monitored and diabetes is not diagnosed in a timely manner, numerous complications can occur — damage to nerve fibers, numbness of fingers and toes, atherosclerosis, visual impairment up to blindness, kidney failure," she said.
The first signs of diabetes are weakness, fatigue, constant thirst, dry mouth, frequent and copious urination, increased appetite and skin infections, the doctor added.
According to the Ministry of Health, in the first quarter of 2025, the number of people who completed schools for patients with diabetes mellitus as a mandatory method of follow-up and treatment amounted to 233,594 patients with a quarterly plan of 205 thousand patients.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
