In the last few years, the number of people with diabetes has risen sharply, and most people think that obesity is the main reason for this.

But diabetes can sometimes happen along with other health problems that mess with hormones.

A new study suggests that arterial stiffness, rather than high blood pressure, may be a better indicator of diabetes.

Statistics from last year showed that the number of people with diabetes has doubled in the last 15 years. Identifying people who are at risk, however, could help bring these rates down, and recent scientific work has helped clarify who these people are. Based on what they found, arterial stiffness may be a major risk factor for diabetes.

The results of the recent study, which were published in the journal of the American Heart Association, indicate that measuring the stiffness of an individual’s arteries could help us figure out who is most likely to get diabetes.

Arterial stiffness is a word that describes the body’s flexibility and can be tested with simple stretching activities.

Experts say how far you can stretch beyond your toes from a sitting position may indicate how stiff your arteries are.

In the past, this condition has been seen as a good predictor of death and death from cardiovascular disease.

Atherosclerosis, a medical term for the hardening of the arteries, is thought to be caused by too much cholesterol blocking the channels.

Atherosclerosis has few symptoms, but if the arteries leading to the brain become fully blocked, numbness or paralysis in the arms and legs might occur.

An ischemic attack can also cause difficulty speaking, slurred speech, and a momentary loss of eyesight.

Researchers have already found how diabetes might hasten atherosclerosis by causing inflammation and reducing blood flow.

However, the inverse link is less well recognized.

Anxin Wang, the study’s principal author said: “Identification of individuals at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is of utmost importance since early intervention can help prevent the onset and slow the progress of the condition.

“Since people with either hypertension or arterial stiffness tend to have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, we investigated which of these factors may be more effective in predicting an individual’s future risk of Type 2 diabetes.”

The findings were based on a study of over 11,156 people who had their blood pressure and fasting blood samples checked every two years.

A brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was used to calculate arterial wall stiffness four years into the study.

The device, which is attached to a participant’s arm, assesses how quickly pressure waves travel along blood vessels.

The people with greater aerial stiffness mixed with high blood pressure had the highest risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the study.

According to experts: When compared to people with optimal vascular function, those with normal blood pressure and stiffer arteries had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

“Participants with high blood pressure and normal arterial stiffness had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.”

Commenting on the findings, Doctor Wang said: “We were surprised to find that people with increased arterial stiffness were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, whether they had high blood pressure or not.

“These results provide strong evidence that measuring arterial stiffness may be a better predictor than blood pressure in determining an individual’s future risk of type 2 diabetes.”

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