Prevent diabetes, get the hepatitis B vaccine. A study presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) supports the idea that hepatitis B vaccination has the potential to prevent the onset of diabetes and reduce the risk of developing it. New ways to prevent diabetes are constantly being explored. A recent study was conducted by American academics. The study evaluated the association between hepatitis B vaccination and diabetes in subjects from adults with information on fasting blood sugar and hepatitis B status. Those with diabetes were excluded. Hepatitis B vaccination was determined by positive hepatitis B surface antibodies and negative core antibodies. Diabetes mellitus was defined by fasting glucose >126 mg/dL. Xiaowei Ma, Department of Endocrinology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China The results of the study showed that among 7142 subjects without a history of diabetes, 1412 were successfully vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine. The incidence of diabetes was 1.13% and 5.67% in subjects who were vaccinated versus those who were not vaccinated against hepatitis B; there was a significant difference between the two, equating to an 81% reduction in the risk of diabetes with vaccination. This is clearly valuable, but the researchers noted that subjects who received the hepatitis B vaccination were more likely to be female, younger, have a lower body mass index, have lower fasting blood sugar and drink less alcohol than those who did not receive the vaccination. Diabetes experts believe that the new method of preventing diabetes with the hepatitis B vaccine needs to be further clarified, though. However, the preventive effect of the hepatitis B vaccine is already sufficient for us to give the hepatitis B vaccine to every newborn. There have been recent reports of adverse reactions to the hepatitis B vaccine, but the final findings are unshakable in terms of the hepatitis B vaccine’s preventive effect.