What is Pre-Diabetes?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

08 Sep 2009 10:45 AM

A family member was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes.

Pre-diabetes is a new name for an existing condition: impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. Those names come from the test used to determine the blood sugar levels. Why the new name? Because calling it "pre-diabetes" gives patients a much clearer view of what the test results mean. A person with pre-diabetes is on his or her way to full blown diabetes. A person with pre-diabetes may already be experiencing some of the health issues that come with diabetes, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

There are several tests available to determine whether or not you have pre-diabetes. They are fasting tests; one test compares fasting blood sugar to blood sugar levels after drinking a high-glucose drink.

• Normal blood sugar levels after fasting should be below 100 mg/dl
• Pre-diabetic blood sugar levels after fasting are between 100 and 125 mg/dl
• Diabetic blood sugar levels after fasting are above 126 mg/dl

According to the American Diabetes Association, around eleven percent of people diagnosed with pre-diabetes end up developing Type 2 diabetes. Millions of people may have pre-diabetes or diabetes and not realize it, because the symptoms can develop very gradually. Some people have few or no symptoms at all!

The American Diabetes Association recommends that the following people get tested for pre-diabetes:

• People who are over the age of forty-five and overweight
• People who are under the age of forty-five and have risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or a family history of diabetes

Pre-diabetics should have blood sugar levels checked every one to two years after diagnosis. Folks who have blood sugar levels in the normal range generally don't need to be rechecked that often -- once every three years will do.

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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