What is prediabetes?

Pre-diabetes is when the glucose (blood sugar) levels aren't quite high enough to be diagnosed as a diabetes, but they are still higher than normal. We do tests in our office called a glucose tolerance test where we give a patient a sugar load and monitor their levels over a two-hour period. If their sugars do elevate they are considered a pre-diabetic.

A pre-diabetic will become a diabetic if they don't change their lifestyle.

The term pre-diabetes refers to someone who has abnormally high blood sugar, but not high enough to meet the diagnosis of diabetes. There are several criteria that apply.  A fasting blood sugar (taken first thing in the morning when you have not eaten anything for about 8 to 10 hours) would normally be under 100. To meet the diagnosis of diabetes, you have to be higher than 126. A fasting blood sugar between 100 and 126 would qualify as pre-diabetes.

 Since 2009, the hemoglobin A1c value, a blood test measuring average blood sugar levels and long used to monitor blood sugar control, has been used for the diagnosis of diabetes.  A value of greater than 6.5 indicates diabetes, while normal is under about 6.  Most people who eventually develop diabetes have blood sugars that rise gradually out of the normal range and into the pre-diabetes range first. An A1c value between 6 and 6.5 often means a person is making this transition, and most such people would be considered to have pre-diabetes. 

 Individuals who lose weight, exercise regularly and are careful about their diet can often prevent or slow the progression of pre-diabetes to diabetes.

Prediabetes is the state that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. About 11 percent of people with prediabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program standard or control group developed type 2 diabetes each year during the average 3 years of follow-up. Other studies show that many people with prediabetes develop type 2 diabetes in 10 years.

Prediabetes refers to the syndrome of insulin resistance and elevated insulin levels that is usually associated with obesity and the accumulation of a certain kind of fat called abdominal, truncal, or visceral fat. This is fat tissue that is deep in the abdominal cavity and is very different from subcutaneous fat, which is deposited under the skin.

Abdominal obesity and fat tissue produces certain hormones and other substances that together cause insulin resistance. This was a major surprise in medicine when it was discovered only 10 or 15 years ago. Prior to that, fat tissue was considered to be "metabolically inert", which means that it was just a storage tissue and didn't affect metabolism. This was very far from the truth, and visceral fat is now considered to be very active and complex metabolically. It produces a host of hormones (for example, leptin, ghrelin, and adiponectin) and other factors (cytokines) that have major influences on metabolism.

The discovery that insulin resistance was the central "lesion" in type 2 diabetes led to a whole area of research that resulted in linking type 2 diabetes to high blood pressure, truncal or abdominal obesity, abnormal blood lipids (elevated triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol), and high waist to hip ratio (the "apple" body type). It was originally described by Gerald Reaven, MD a professor of medicine at Stanford University, who named it Syndrome X to underscore how little understood it was and how it was more than just elevated blood sugars that caused disease. He wrote a book for the general public on this called Syndrome X, published by Simon and Shuster in 2000. Syndrome X is now also called metabolic syndrome and prediabetes, and the majority of people with type 2 diabetes have some or all of its features.

Pre-diabetes is a condition that causes higher blood glucose levels than normal. It’s estimated that 59.7 million Americans over age 20 suffer with pre-diabetes and most do not know they are at risk for diabetes. That’s because usually pre-diabetes has no signs or symptoms until damage is done to internal organs. 

In diabetes, there is either too little insulin being produced (type 1 diabetes) or there is a resistance to the existing insulin levels in the blood (type 2 diabetes). Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that facilitates the movement of sugar from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. 

Prediabetes is a term used when a person's blood sugar (glucose) level is above normal but below a level that indicates diabetes. Prediabetes has no symptoms. It can only be diagnosed with a blood glucose test.

Prediabetes may be called impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose, depending on the test used to diagnose it.

People who are overweight or physically inactive are at risk for prediabetes. Other things that increase risk include:

• Family history of diabetes.
• High cholesterol.
• African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander ethnicity.
• History of gestational diabetes. This is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. Delivering a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds is also a risk.
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a hormone imbalance that interferes with normal ovulation.
• Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions related to the body's metabolism. These conditions include excess body fat (particularly abdominal obesity); elevated triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar; and low HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol).

Some people who have prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Prediabetes increases the risk for heart disease. People who have prediabetes may be able to prevent type 2 diabetes by losing weight, eating healthy food, and exercising regularly.

Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when the blood glucose (blood sugar) levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It could be either impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). People with IFG and IGT are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Technically, we define diabetes as a certain absolute blood sugar number.

One point over and you are a member of our club—we’ll mail you a T-shirt and a blood glucose monitor while supplies last. One point under and you aren’t diabetic.

But your blood sugar is waaaaaay higher than a “normal” person’s yet not high enough to be diabetic; so what the Sam Hill do we do with you?

Most doctors will tell you that you have pre-diabetes, which sounds so harmless you probably won’t do diddly squat about it. There actually isn’t even a medical diagnosis, what we call an ICD-9 code, for prediabetes.

The closest I’ve been able to find is “abnormal blood glucose not otherwise classified.”

I don’t believe in pre-diabetes. If you fall into this range you are a T-2 diabetic that does not need medication yet; and it is better to accept that fact. So if your doctor told you that you had pre-diabetes, or borderline diabetes, I’m here to tell you that you can’t be a little bit pregnant.

Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Pre-diabetes may be related to too little insulin being produced or decreased response to insulin by the body. People diagnosed with pre-diabetes have a higher risk of developing diabetes in the future.

Cardiovascular specialist Dr. Merle Myerson explains the definition of prediabetes. Watch Dr. Myerson's video for important tips and information about heart health.

If you have prediabetes, your blood sugar (glucose) is higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Prediabetes is a wake-up call that type 2 diabetes could be in your future, but you can still prevent it. People with prediabetes also are at higher risk for heart disease, stroke and eye disease.

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A person's blood sugar levels usually rise slowly and progressively over the years, reaching a range classified as pre-diabetes before they become high enough to signify diabetes. Pre-diabetes is diagnosed two ways: By elevated blood sugar levels in a person who has not eaten for at least eight hours (a condition called impaired fasting glucose) and by elevated blood sugar levels after an oral glucose tolerance test (a condition called impaired glucose tolerance). An estimated 57 million Americans have some form of pre-diabetes and, therefore, are much more prone to developing diabetes.

Prediabetes means that your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. Not all individuals with prediabetes develop type 2 diabetes. Research has shown that losing weight and increasing physical activity can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.