Pre Diabetes
A new category of diabetes has been emerging recently, commonly referred to as Pre Diabetes or prediabetes.
So what is Pre Diabetes?
This occurs when a person has higher than normal blood sugar, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. It's important, because it identifies when a person may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, but they still may be able to take steps to prevent the disease from occurring.
Prediabetes includes two categories of high blood sugar:
- Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT). A condition when blood sugar remains high more than two hours after eating
- Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG). This occurs when a person has high blood sugar upon waking, since they haven't had anything to eat overnight.
About 41 million Americans over age 40 may have prediabetes,1 and new studies suggest that there may be a high prevalence among adolescents as well.2
If you think you may have prediabetes, talk to your doctor. If you have one or more of the following risk factors, they may want to test your blood glucose:
- overweight and age 45 or older3
- high blood pressure3
- low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides3
- family history of diabetes3
- history of gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds3
- African American, Latino, Native American or Asian American/Pacific Islander4
Fortunately, by losing weight or increasing physical activity, a person may delay diabetes or even return their blood sugar levels to normal.1 Talk to your healthcare team about what steps you can take to protect your health.
1
National diabetes fact sheet: general information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2005. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2
Prevalence of Impaired Fasting Glucose and Its Relationship with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in US Adolescents, 1999-2000. Pediatrics Vol. 116 No. 5 November 2005, pp 1122-1126.
3
"Frequently Asked Questions About Pre-diabetes" American Diabetes Association
4
"How to Tell if You Have Pre-diabetes" American Diabetes Association