• Researchers based in China conducted a post-hoc study of people with a prediabetes diagnosis.
• People often receive a diagnosis of prediabetes before developing type 2 diabetes, and sometimes people can avoid type 2 diabetes with interventions.
• The researchers reviewed more than 30 years of data for people following their prediabetes diagnosis.
• The scientists learned that people who avoided developing type 2 diabetes for at least 4 years had reduced rates of developing cardiovascular disease and lower all-cause mortality rates.

Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that increases healthcare costs by billions of dollars per year. Developing type 2 diabetes can also contribute to a host of complications, such as vision problems, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and nerve damage.

Researchers study type 2 diabetes to learn more about how to reduce the problems it causes. A study led by Guangwei Li at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital took a look at the effects of postponing the development of type 2 diabetes in people who already had a diagnosis of prediabetes.

The study found that putting off developing type 2 diabetes for at least 4 years can lead to many improvements in the long term, including reducing the risk of death and diabetes-related health complications, such as cardiovascular disease.

The study findings appear in PLOS Medicine.