What is pre-diabetes?

• When a person has a higher than normal blood sugar but not high enough to be
  diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes, they are said to have pre-diabetes.
• Blood tests determine if a person has pre-diabetes.
• Persons with pre-diabetes are at very high risk of developing diabetes.
• Diabetes is a lifelong health condition.. Type 2 diabetes, the type that most
  American Indian and Alaska Native people have, is a problem of high blood sugar. This is be-cause the sugar from food can't get into the body's cells. The cells use sugar for energy.

• If you know you are pre-diabetic, you can learn how to decrease your chances of
  getting diabetes. You may actually prevent getting diabetes - and its complications.

• There are usually no symptoms of pre-diabetes.
• The only way to diagnose pre-diabetes is by a blood test:
• A fasting blood sugar (FBS) or a oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

• This means that a sample of the blood is drawn usually in the morning–after not eating or drinking (except water) for 8-12 hours.
• The concentration of glucose or sugar in the blood is examined.
• FBS results:
  • Pre diabetes=100-125 mg/dl.
  • Diabetes=126 mg/dl or higher.
  • Two different FBS tests are required to confirm diagnosis.
  • A normal FBS is below 100 mg/dl.

• This means milligrams/deciliter.
• mg/dl is a unit of measurement used to measure blood sugar concentration.
• This measurement may also be written as mg%.

• An OGTT is usually a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test.
• This test may follow an FBS.
• The person being tested has a fasting blood sugar test.
• They are then given a concentrated sugar drink.
• Exactly 2 hours after the sugar drink, another blood test sample is drawn to check the level of glucose present in the blood.

• OGTT measures fasting blood sugar before and after a person drinks a solution containing concentrated glucose (sugar),.
• OGTT results mean pre-diabetes if:
  • FBS is 100-126 mg/dl or less.
  • And the second test is 140-199 mg/dl two hours after the glucose drink.

• ALL overweight adults and adolescents.
• Those with one or more of the following:.
• Family history of diabetes.
• High blood fats (also called 'lipids'), such as high cholesterol or high triglycerides.
• High blood pressure.
• High fat diet.
• Little or no physical activity.
• History of gestational diabetes (diabetes of pregnancy).
• History of giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds.
• Having skin changes where the skin (especially around the back of the neck and armpits) becomes darker and velvety - called acanthosis nigricans or AN.
• Being Native American or Alaska Native.


• Because of the high rates of diabetes in Native Americans all overweight adolescents and adults should be screened yearly for pre-diabetes and diabetes.

The good news is:

• A person who has pre-diabetes can prevent or delay getting diabetes, if they eat a healthy diet and get daily physical exercise.
• Some persons with pre-diabetes may be placed on low dose diabetes medication to help lower the blood sugar.