Do You Have Diabetes?

Symptoms of high blood sugar include thirst, frequent urination, weight loss, tiredness, and blurred vision. By the time you have symptoms, your glucose levels are already very high. 

The absence of symptoms does not mean that you do not have diabetes. In fact, one in three people with diabetes do not know that they have diabetes because they do not have symptoms.   

Going for regular health-screening for diabetes helps you to detect diabetes early. This means you can receive prompt treatment before complications develop. 

Should you be screened for diabetes?

Diabetes screening is recommended if you are aged 40 or above. Find out about how you may be eligible for subsidised screening.

For those aged 18 to 39, you should be screened for diabetes if you have any of the following risk factors:

• You are overweight or obese.  
• You belong to a high risk racial or ethnic group. In Singapore, Indians have the highest risk of diabetes, compared to the Chinese and Malays.
• You are a mother who has given birth to a child weighing more than 4kg.
• You have a history of gestational diabetes mellitus.  
• You have any other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or polycystic ovarian syndrome. 

Find out if you need to be screened for diabetes here. 

Reversing Pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes occurs when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. This condition puts you at a higher risk of developing diabetes.

However, making healthy lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity, improving your diet by reducing sugar and refined carbohydrates, and losing excess weight can often reverse pre-diabetes and prevent the onset of diabetes.

Additional Resources 

• Diabetes risk factors by HealthHub
• Reversing pre-diabetes by HealthHub
  

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