March 23rd is Diabetes Alert Day. Sponsored by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), it's a day dedicated to helping those who could have diabetes recognize that they are at risk. Almost six million Americans don't know they have diabetes and that number is quickly rising.

If you think that you might be at risk or are worried about people you know who might be at risk, the Diabetes Risk Test will let you know whether you have reasons to be concerned. If you determine that you're a high-risk person, you might consider getting a blood test.

Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, genetics or memberships in a high-risk group. African-Americans, Hispanics and Native-Americans are among those in high risk groups. Type 1 diabetes has risk factors that include viral infection, environmental triggers and geography.

For more information on diabetes, check out AOL Health.

Almost 24 million people in the United States have diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association. Think you're not at risk? Think again.

Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, can be caused by genes, viruses or foods. Type 2 diabetes is more likely to be linked to age, medications, poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Gestational diabetes, which usually occurs around weeks 24–28 of pregnancy, has been linked to the hormones produced by the placenta that hinder the action of the mother's insulin.

Even if you're convinced you're safe, check out these shocking risk factors.

• Breast size: If you're a size D or larger at age 20, you may be up to five times more likely to develop diabetes than your flat-chested friends.
• Birth month: If you're a spring baby, you're more likely to develop type 1 diabetes in the U.S., according to a CDC study.
• Slow-healing cuts: If your cuts stick around longer, it could be a symptom of type 2 diabetes. That's because your blood vessels are a little thinner than they should be while the vessel walls are a little thicker. That means your blood system can't carry infection-fighting white blood cells to the site of the cut, which delays healing time.
• Tooth Loss: If you have periodontal disease or tooth loss, your likelihood for diabetes increases 14 to 29 percent.

Your doctor can provide more information about whether you're at risk for diabetes or you can visit AOL Health to test your risk.

The Chicago-Sun Times just ran a piece about area dentists who are doing their bit for type 2 diabetes prevention. These docs are screening all patients with gum disease for high blood sugar. They hope this will help with early detection, since gum disease is a risk factor for diabetes. (In fact, gum disease is a risk factor for tons of health issues, running the gamut from minor to life-threatening.)

The paper profiles, among others, dentist Dr. Ronald Schefdore. Whenever Schefdore gets patients coming in with gum disease, he automatically gives them blood tests that measure cholesterol and blood sugar levels, as well as inflammation. Schefdore describes a success story involving one patient who, thanks to the tests, got an early diagnosis of pre-diabetic symptoms and now, with the help of his PCP, has his blood sugar back under control.

Schfdore has also trained about five hundred other dentists (wow) how to collect blood samples using the finger-prick method. "If every dentist practiced this way," he comments, "we could improve the health of the world overnight."

This is preventive care in action. People like this are raising the bar for everyone. Cheers!

Yes, that's what it says: curbing the diabetic epidemic with 6 oat waters. CeaProve® is a new test for the early detection of pre-diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance that may help curb the diabetes epidemic. For those of you who have endured a glucose tolerance test - you'll understand the pivotal importance of this new diagnostic test. Ceapro has developed a test that identifies people at risk of type-2 diabetes as early as 5 to 10 years before the disease is diagnosed.

The simple test involves eating 6 oat-wafers and undergoing a finger prick. The test - when repeated at six month intervals - can also show if lifestyle changes are being effective or if more treatment is needed. Ceapro has tested CeaProve in the workplace of several prominent businesses in Edmonton that are interested in helping their employees monitor and preserve their health. Over 90% of tested volunteers were unaware of their risk for diabetes. Of the population studied, 60% were overweight, 56% were over the age of 40, 44 % had a family history of diabetes and over 57% had more than two risk factors for the disease. Although Ceapro is a Canadian-based company, they expect to have Ceaprove available in commercial quantities within the next 45 days. The product will likely be released through regional health initiatives and may also be available through pharmacies and medical laboratories.

Can such a simple test have such a significant impact on the future of one's health? The results tell people, years ahead of time if they are heading down the path to diabetes. With dietary modifications, regular exercise, and an overall improve in lifestyle - wouldn't it be worth it to you?

In the January 2007 issue of the the journal Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), French scientists published an article suggesting a link between certain risk factors and new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) following liver transplantation.

Specifically, a history of impaired fasting glucose, obesity and hepatitis C infection -- when paired with the use of an of immunosppressant -- was shown to be associated with an increased risk of NODM.

The study, conducted by a team of researchers at the Hospital Paul Brousse in Villejuif, France, included 211 patients from 10 transplant centers who had undergone a liver transplant between October of 2003 and June of 2004. The patients' records were reviewed and their fasting blood sugar levels were recorded 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after the surgery. Those patients with NODM had their date of diagnosis noted, in addition to the immunosuppressive treatment and diabetes management they received.

The results demonstrated an incident of NODM of 22.7 percent, with most cases being diagnosed within three months after transplant surgery. Moreover, 12.4 percent of the patients with normal glucose levels before the surgery developed impaired fasting glucose.

Genomas has identified potential DNA markers for risk factors involved in diabetes-related metabolic side effects from treatment with common antipsychotic drugs. A day late and a few million dollars short, eh Eli Lilly?

The study found that DNA variations could predict a patient's likelihood for developing pre-diabetic side effects such as weight gain. Atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPs) can induce diabetic symptoms in nearly one third of patients, most notably characterized by increased weight gain in some patients but not in others. However, the side effect profiles for these drugs even within the same drug class may differ, raising the possibility of drug-specific side effects.

Genomas develops systems for DNA-guided diagnosis and treatment of metabolic disorders induced by drugs in cardiovascular and psychiatric medicine. They have the capability to select the safest drug treatment for each patient. A company like Genomas has the right idea. The use of antipsychotic drugs is on the rise, with an estimated 14 million patients for which these drugs are increasingly being prescribed. AAPs are a dime a dozen. The million dollar question is which of these drugs is NOT the one for you?

Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa say kids and teens with diabetes often have risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well. In a report published in Diabetes Care, the researchers describe their investigation of a multiracial population sample of over two thousand diabetic children and teenagers. They identified risk factors in these kids that are related to CVD. These include high cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and increased waist circumference.

The results showed around one fifth of the subjects (twenty-three percent of girls and nineteen percent of boys) had at least two CVD risk factors, but also showed that more than ninety percent of kids with Type 2 diabetes also had at least two additional CVD risk factors. In comparison, a sample of teens in the general population (including diabetics and non-diabetics) showed only 6.4 percent with at least two CVD risk factors. Not surprisingly, the following ethnic minorities appear to be most in danger: Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics and African Americans. The authors conclude by stating the need to get childhood obesity and its related lifestyle issues (inactivity) under control pronto.

Yesterday I posted a blog about a study showing that people first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at under twenty years of age stand to face extra-serious health consequences if they go on to develop kidney disease. In a similar vein, I now see in the news that yet another study shows one in five children and teens with diabetes are already exhibiting two or more risk factors for heart disease. Of that number, around fourteen percent have Type 1 diabetes. A very frightening ninety-two percent have Type 2 diabetes. The problem - surprise, surprise - is overweight and obesity in young Americans. Those most at risk are minorities, especially girls from minority communities. (See my previous blog for more on this topic.)

Think about it: all those kids are heading towards a future of dealing with heart disease. And they're not even adults yet. So sad, isn't it?

The study was carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.