Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine Prevention and Treatment Strategies for Prediabetes Based on the “Treating the Disease Before It Occurs” Theory

Prediabetes, which includes impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance, is a necessary stage in the progression to diabetes. Patients at this stage often lack obvious clinical symptoms and are easily overlooked. Timely identification of high-risk individuals and those with prediabetes and active intervention are key to preventing the development of diabetes. The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory of “Treating the Disease Before It Occurs” originates from the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon). Through millennia of accumulation, it has formed a complete system of “preventing disease before it occurs, preventing disease progression after onset, and preventing recurrence after recovery.” Its concepts of holistic regulation and syndrome-differentiated care are highly compatible with the needs of prediabetes prevention and management. This paper, starting from the core connotation of the “Treating the Disease Before It Occurs” theory, analyzes the TCM etiology and pathogenesis of prediabetes. It focuses on elaborating the specific application of the “Treating the Disease Before It Occurs” concept in the “preventing disease before it occurs” and “preventing disease progression after onset” stages of prediabetes. Based on the advantages of integrated Chinese and Western medicine diagnosis and treatment, it provides theoretical basis and practical ideas for clinical intervention in prediabetes.