Association of Prediabetes Status Awareness With Behaviors and Perception of Health.

INTRODUCTION: Lifestyle modification can significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes. However, the effect of prediabetes status awareness on perceptions of health and health behaviors are mixed. We used the 2015 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to evaluate the association of prediabetes status awareness with self-reported perception of health and health behaviors.
METHODS: A secondary analysis was performed on the 2015 to 2016 NHANES, which is a biannual, cross-sectional survey designed to be representative of the civilian, noninstitutionalized United States population. Survey participants were interviewed at home and invited to a mobile examination center to undergo examinations and laboratory measurements. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to create prediabetes-aware and prediabetes-unaware groups. The groups were propensity-score matched based on Body Mass Index, A1c, race, and education. Measures of health perception and health behaviors were analyzed, including feeling at risk for developing diabetes, general health status, perception of weight, desire to lose weight, dietary behaviors, and physical activity behaviors.
RESULTS: Participants who were prediabetes aware were more likely to report a perceived risk of diabetes and to consider themselves overweight. Prediabetes awareness was not associated with any difference in dietary or physical activity behaviors.
CONCLUSIONS: Although participants who were aware of their prediabetes status were more likely to report a perceived threat of developing diabetes, they did not report increased engagement in health behaviors. Future research can better understand how these aspects of a health belief model affect engagement in health behaviors for people with prediabetes. © Copyright 2021 by the American Board of Family Medicine.