change to eligibility

14.03.2018

Two changes have been approved by Queensland Health, broadening the scope for program candidates.

As of January 1, people diagnosed by a medical practitioner with pre-diabetes now have automatic entry to the My health for life program.

There has been a lot of debate in clinical circles both here in Australia and overseas about the term pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is generally used to describe people diagnosed with impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. While elevated glucose levels can often be a pre-cursor to type 2 diabetes, some clinicians feel it is misleading to use a term that suggests this is the eventual outcome.  

However, it is a term that is now widely used by health professionals and the broader community to describe elevated blood glucose levels.

More than 440,000 Queenslanders are estimated to have pre-diabetes and the program offers many people the opportunity to get their health back on track and lessen their risk of type 2.

Finally, the second change relates to the AUSDRISK score. Previously set at 15, eligibility is now set at 12 and above which indicates high risk of type 2 diabetes.

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