Screening and Detection

Risk Factors and Screening

While pre-diabetes and diabetes span all segments of the population, the following groups have a higher incidence: African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and older people.

People who should get screened include overweight adults over age 45 and overweight adults under age 45 with one or more of the following risk factors:
  • Lack of physical activity
  • A diagnosis of IFG (impaired fasting glucose) or IGT (impaired glucose tolerance)
  • A family history of diabetes
  • A case of gestational diabetes or giving birth to a child weighing more than nine pounds
  • Elevated blood pressure
  • An HDL cholesterol level of 35 mg/dl and/or triglyceride level of 250 mg/dl or higher

Detection

Two tests can detect pre-diabetes: the fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Both require an overnight fast. For the FPG, a healthcare professional measures your blood glucose first thing in the morning before eating. For the OGTT, a healthcare professional checks your blood glucose after fasting and again two hours after you drink a glucose beverage.

Normal fasting blood glucose is considered to be 100 mg/dL. Pre-diabetes is defined as a blood glucose between 100 and 125 mg/dL; a diabetes diagnosis is made when plasma blood glucose reaches 126 mg/dL or higher on two separate tests.

Normal blood glucose after a glucose drink measures 140 mg/dL or below; in pre-diabetes it measures between 140 mg/dL and 199 mg/dL and in diabetes more than 200 mg/dL. Make sure you ask your doctor for your exact blood glucose results since some doctors are not aware of the latest guidelines for diagnosing diabetes.

Prevention

Having pre-diabetes doesn't mean you will inevitably develop diabetes. People with pre-diabetes can prevent diabetes from developing by managing their blood glucose. Most importantly, you need to lose an average of 5 to 10% of your current weight and get more physical exercise, which helps the body to use insulin to convert food into energy. Your doctor and/or a nutritionist or fitness specialist can help you make lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes and to improve your overall health and well-being.

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Thursday
November 20, 2008

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Regular exercise increases the number of insulin receptor sites on cells, making the body more sensitive to insulin.

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