New AI-Powered Home Test Uses Thigh Length to Detect Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes
核心洞察
Researchers developed MEDWACS (搜索), a free online screening tool that estimates the likelihood of prediabetes (搜索) or undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (搜索) without requiring a blood test.
The tool uses seven at-home measurements—including thigh length—selected by machine learning from nearly 3,700 candidate factors, and performed as well as or better than established risk assessment methods in two external validations.
Thigh length may signal diabetes risk by reflecting early childhood nutrition and adult muscle mass, which influences the body's ability to clear glucose from the blood.
A new online screening tool called MEDWACS (搜索) can detect type 2 diabetes (搜索) or prediabetes (搜索) with high accuracy using an unexpected measurement: the length of a person's thigh. Developed using artificial intelligence and large amounts of health data, the test allows adults to assess their risk at home without a blood test, potentially encouraging people who would not otherwise seek medical care to visit a doctor.
"Type 2 diabetes (搜索) is easy to diagnose with a blood test, but if you don't suspect you have it, you won't go to the doctor to have one done. That's why an online test at home can encourage people to see a doctor," said Daniel Yoo, a postdoctoral researcher at DTU Sustain (搜索) who led the project.
The Unmet Need in Diabetes Detection
Type 2 diabetes (搜索) is the most common form of diabetes in Denmark, accounting for 80 percent of all people with the condition. According to The Danish Diabetes Association (搜索), around 100,000 Danes are unaware that they have type 2 diabetes, and approximately half a million Danes are estimated to have prediabetes (搜索).
The public health burden extends well beyond Denmark. About 115.2 million US adults have prediabetes (搜索), and roughly eight in 10 do not know it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prediabetes often causes no clear symptoms, yet it raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (搜索), heart disease, and stroke.
Since diabetes can lead to a number of serious complications and costs Danish society at least DKK 13.3 billion per year, detecting people with prediabetes (搜索) or unrecognized diabetes is an important health-promoting task.
How MEDWACS Works
To use MEDWACS (搜索), adults enter seven pieces of information: age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, upper arm circumference, and thigh length. All seven parameters can be measured at home using a tape measure, bathroom scales, and a standard blood pressure monitor.
The researchers selected these seven factors from nearly 3,700 candidates analyzed by a machine learning system. The model was developed using 30 years of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a major US health research program that included adults of both sexes beginning at age 18.
The team then evaluated the model using separate datasets from the United States and South Korea. Because researchers already knew which participants had prediabetes (搜索) or diabetes, they could compare the tool's predictions with confirmed health outcomes. In both external validations, MEDWACS (搜索) performed as well as or better than other established risk assessment methods, according to the study.
Why Thigh Length Predicts Diabetes Risk
Among the seven factors, thigh length is the most unexpected—and even the research team was initially surprised that it carried useful information. Umberto Maggiore, an Italian physician and researcher at the University of Parma who specializes in kidney disease, explained why this measurement is relevant to diabetes:
"The length of the femur bears witness to nutrition in early childhood. Poor nutrition in the first years of life slightly inhibits bone growth and is closely linked to an increased risk of diabetes decades later. Furthermore, the body's largest muscle group is also located in the thighs, and these muscles are responsible for removing sugar from the blood. Overall, shorter legs mean that a person has less muscle mass to absorb that sugar, which increases the risk of diabetes."
Skeletal muscle removes much of the glucose circulating in the bloodstream by taking it in for energy or storage. Having less muscle mass may therefore reduce the body's ability to clear glucose.
Validation and Future Directions
The researchers assume that the thigh measurement remains relevant for Danes, even though it is a parameter based on health data from the US and South Korea. To be certain that the test is just as accurate at identifying high-risk patients in Denmark, it must be validated against health data from the Danish population.
"When MEDWACS (搜索) performs so well on populations as diverse as the American and South Korean ones, we are confident that the test will also be able to detect Danes with diabetes or prediabetes (搜索). But of course, this is something we will need to test to be certain," said Yoo.
Tanja Thybo, Head of Research & Knowledge at The Danish Diabetes Association (搜索), welcomed the development while noting the organization's existing approach: "The new tool from DTU is an interesting contribution, and it is promising that it has been validated in several populations. In The Danish Diabetes Association, we use the Leicester Risk Assessment, which is a simple and well-tested method for rapid detection. It requires few measurements and is easy to use in the field. It has a precision that is on par with the new tool."
"It will be interesting to see whether MEDWACS (搜索) can be adapted and validated in a Danish population in the long term. There are still 100,000 Danes walking around with undiagnosed diabetes. That's why we are happy about all research that can make us better at finding them," Thybo added.
The peer-reviewed study, "Enhancing prediabetes (搜索) and diabetes detection through a machine learning-enabled self-assessment approach," was published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. The project was funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (搜索).