The Tethys Diabetes Risk Test (Continued)

Who Should Take the Test?
My colleagues with whom I shared this Test Drive experience had quite a bit of input in terms of ideal candidates for this test. Some believed that there probably wasn't much use in doing this test if neither you nor your physician believes you could be at any increased risk for diabetes or prediabetes (e.g., no family history of diabetes, normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol, normal blood glucose, not overweight etc.).

Interestingly, though, over 25% of Americans have high blood pressure, over one third have high cholesterol, and a whopping two thirds of Americans are overweight. So… if you don't have any risk factors that is great! But if you do, our group thought that the test might be useful, especially if you have a family history and one of the other risk factors. People who have been diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome or with prediabetes would greatly benefit from the test as a concrete justification for implementing lifestyle changes.

What About Insurance Coverage?
We understand that the decision for an insurance company to cover a predictive test like this relies on the whether or not they think that investing in this test will save them money down the road. The only way to figure that out is to see how many people actually do take action once they know they are at increased risk for diabetes. The rationale here being that the earlier you take action, the healthier you remain, and the fewer medical procedures that insurance companies must pay for.

If you would like to learn more about the test, see

Aside from providing sample PreDx Diabetes Risk Scores, Tethys Bioscience Inc. was not involved in the research, preparation, or publication of this article. PreDx™ is a trademark of Tethys Bioscience.







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Last Modified Date: April 23, 2013


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by Carey Potash