Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Because an estimate 300,000 people in New Mexico are diabetic and 640,000 are prediabetic, the New Mexico Department of Health is encouraging residents to take a free online test to screen themselves for risk of the disease.
Six out of 10 adults with prediabetes are unaware of their condition. Without a diagnosis, those adults are unable to take the important steps to prevent or delay the progression of diabetes.
The screening website is at doihaveprediabetes.org. It asks seven questions, then evaluates the test-taker’s risk from a 1-to-10 scale.
The agency recognized March 22 as Diabetes Alert Day.
“We want to increase people’s awareness not only of this severe disease, but the many options available to mitigate risk,” said Acting Cabinet Secretary David R. Scrase stated in a news release, “especially considering the hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans who can be helped with early interventions.”
Risk factors include a family history of diabetes, race/ethnicity, higher body weight, increasing age, smoking, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure, and a history of gestational diabetes.
The agency’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Program uses state and federal funds to support programs to prevent and manage prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity.
For more information, go to pathstohealthnm.org or call (505) 850-0176 or (575) 703-2343.