When do you become prediabetic or diabetic?

When do you become prediabetic or diabetic?

By Abbah Christy

You are considered to have prediabetes when your blood sugar levels are elevated above normal, but not sufficiently high to qualify as diabetes. A diagnosis of prediabetes is made through blood tests, such as fasting blood glucose or A1C tests.

Diabetes is identified when blood sugar levels are persistently elevated, typically confirmed by two separate high blood tests.

Prediabetes:
• Fasting Blood Glucose: Ranges from 100 to 125 mg/dL.
• A1C: Between 5.7% and 6.4%.
Diabetes:
• Fasting Blood Glucose: 126 mg/dL or more on two distinct tests.
• A1C: 6.5% or greater on two separate occasions.

While prediabetes serves as a warning of possible diabetes onset, it does not constitute a diabetes diagnosis itself. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, individuals with prediabetes face a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, in addition to heart disease and stroke.

Risk Factors for Prediabetes and Diabetes:

• Being overweight or obese.
• Lack of physical activity.
• A family history of diabetes.
• A past experience of gestational diabetes.
• Belonging to certain ethnic groups (e.g., South Asian, Chinese, Hispanic, African, Caribbean, or Black African).
• Having high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, or high triglyceride levels.
• A history of heart disease.
• Medical conditions that necessitate long-term use of steroids.