Pre-Diabetes

What is Pre-Diabetes?

People with glucose levels that are elevated but do not meet the diagnostic criteria for diabetes have pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. If you have pre-diabetes the long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during pre-diabetes.

In the United States, 57 million people have pre-diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Without intervention, pre-diabetes is likely to become type 2 diabetes in as little as 10 years.

Symptoms & Risk Factors

Most people with with pre-diabetes have no symptoms at all, symptoms of diabetes may include blurred vision, extreme fatigue, unusual thirst or a frequent desire to uninate.

You may be at risk for pre-diabetes if:

You have a relative with type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

You are overweight or obese.

You have high blood pressure.

You belong to a high risk ethinc group: African American, Native American, Latino or Pacific Islander.

You are over 45 years of age.

You have a history of gestational diabetes or delivering a baby that weighted more than 9 pounds.

How is Pre-Diabetes Diagnosed?

A patient with pre-diabetes may have impaired fasting glucose (IFG), which suggest pre-diabetes. To determine if you have pre-diabetes, your physician can take two different blood test. The fasting plasma glucose test(FPG) and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The diagnosis of diabetes and pre-diabetes is based on the interpretation of fasting plasma glucose and 2-hour (OGTT). The results are shown in the table below.

Diagnosis	Fasting Plasma Glucose	2-Hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
No diabetes	>100 mg/dL	>140 mg/dL
Pre-diabetes	100-125 mg/dL	140-199 mg/dL
Diabetes	≥126 mg/dL	≥200 mg/dL

Data from Benjamin SM Valdez R, Geiss LS, Rolka DB, Narayan KM

If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes there are action steps that you can take to prevent type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes can be reversed by following a balanced diet, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.