Early Diabetes Risk Detection Possible Through Household Data Analysis
New research presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (september 15-19, 2025) indicates that identifying individuals at risk for diabetes is absolutely possible by analyzing the electronic health records of people within the same household for shared risk factors. The study was led by Dr. Tainayah Thomas of Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, and colleagues.
Previous studies suggest a diabetes diagnosis within a family can improve health behaviors at the household level, as one person’s diagnosis may raise awareness of diabetes risk factors – such as obesity, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood fats – among other household members. Though, much of this research has focused on spouses/partners and individuals with established type 2 diabetes, frequently enough excluding other household members like adolescent children or those already at high risk.To assess household diabetes risk and support family-based prevention efforts, the authors utilized electronic health record (EHR) and administrative data to identify household members, aged 10 years or older, of adult patients with prediabetes who share insurance coverage and reside at the same address. This allowed them to evaluate diabetes risk factors within these households.
This study represents a novel approach, focusing on households of individuals with prediabetes – a condition characterized by an abnormal blood sugar profile that typically progresses to type 2 diabetes without intervention. This strategy has the potential to both prevent progression to type 2 diabetes in the initially identified individual and detect early risk in other household members,which is particularly important given the increasing incidence of diabetes among adolescents and young adults.
The researchers identified an initial cohort of adults with prediabetes (fasting plasma glucose [FPG] 100-125 mg/dL or glycated haemoglobin 5.7-6.4% [39-46 mmol/mol]) and their co-insured household members in 2023. Data was sourced from Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), a large integrated healthcare system serving approximately 4.5 million patients in Northern California, USA, providing thorough primary and specialty care services.the study examined characteristics of both the index cases and their household members, including demographics, enrollment data, neighborhood information, and healthcare utilization, including blood glucose screening tests.
Age and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) were calculated for children and young people aged 2-19 years using the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) 2022 SAS programme for CDC Growth Charts. Diabetes risk factors were then calculated for those aged 10 years and older. The American Diabetes Association recommends risk-based screening for type 2 diabetes in children after the onset of puberty or at age 10 who are overweight or obese and have one or more additional risk factors for diabetes.
For adults aged 18 and older, diabetes risk factors were defined as a BMI over 25, a history of gestational diabetes, hypertension, abnormal blood fats, or cardiovascular disease; or, alternatively, a prediabetes diagnosis based on laboratory values. For children aged 10-17, risk factors were defined as overweight (age and sex-specific BMI in the top 15%) or obesity (age and sex-specific BMI in the top 5%).