Study shows high incidences of diabetes in previously undiagnosed, hospitalized adults

NEW YORK A report published Tuesday stated that the diagnostic blood results of nearly one in five adults admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston showed possible unrecognized diabetes. The report was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

According to investigators, doctors looked at blood-sugar levels in 695 admitted patients over 11 days during 2006 and monitored them for diabetes-related events and symptoms.

The results of the study showed that around 18 percent of those patients had uncontrolled blood-sugar levels—levels that were about five times higher than those of the general outpatient population.

Further, the report indicated that 15 percent of the patients monitored and then released were diagnosed with diabetes within one year.

“Consequently … the utility of diagnosis for inpatients is likely to be low unless patients subsequently receive long-term outpatient care to prevent complications of diabetes,” the report stated.