PREDIABETES, are you aware of it?

What Is prediabetes?

Prediabetes like it sounds means before diabetes. It is a disease condition just before Diabetes. Blood sugar levels are higher than normal but lower than the level that is used to define Diabetes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines normal blood sugar after fasting for at least 8 hours as <110mg/dl (6.0mmol/l). Prediabetes is then defined as blood glucose between  110mg/dl and  125mg/dl (6.1mmol/l-6.9mmol) while Diabetes is defined as blood glucose after fasting of ≥126mg/dl (6.9mmol/l).

Definitions;

Prediabetes is generally described by two terms; Impaired Fasting Glucose(IFG) and Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT).

Impaired  Fasting Glucose

IFG happens when your body is failing to control the metabolism of sugar in your body when you are fasting. When you have not taken in any Sugar for over 8 hours or so, your liver is producing sugar and pumping it into your bloodstream. When this amount cannot be completely used by the body and you end up with excess sugar in the blood, then you have developed Liver insulin resistance.

IFG is defined by blood sugar measurement between  110mg/dl and  125mg/dl (6.1mmol/l-6.9mmol) when one has fasted for a minimum of 8 hours.

Impaired Glucose Tolerance

IGT means that your body handles sugar metabolism poorly. This results from a problem with the amount of insulin one’s body is able to produce for the body to utilize the consumed Sugar. Known as insulin insufficiency and is a result of dysfunctional insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

IGT may also result from a problem with body tissues, especially muscles. Muscles will slowly or fail to take up and use sugar from the blood after you have eaten a sugar meal. And we call this muscle insulin resistance.

IGT is defined as elevated blood glucose  >140mg/dl(7.8mmol/l) and <200mg/dl(11.0mmol/l) measured 2 hours after taking a dose of 75mg of pure glucose. This is the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in hospitals. It is done in an individual who previously was not diagnosed with diabetes, that is, had a Fasting blood glucose <126mg/dl (<7.0mmol/l)¹

Glucose Intolerance-a high risk for Type 2 diabetes

IFG and IGT define different individuals and they vary from one population to another. IGT is more frequent in women than men². However, individuals may have both IFG and IGT. When one has both IFG and IGT the risk of developing Diabetes Mellitus type 2(DM2) is even higher.

People with  IFG only, commonly have liver insulin resistance and normal muscle insulin sensitivity. Whereas people with IGT only, have normal to slightly reduced liver insulin sensitivity and moderate to severe muscle insulin resistance.

Prediabetes in the world

In 2019 Prediabetes was found in 7.5% of the adults in the world, this is about 373.9 million people. This will rise to 8.0% of adults which is 453.8 million by 2030. Prediabetes affects millions of people, unfortunately, those who are affected do not know that they have prediabetes.

You need to be aware

Many of us look out for diabetes, and yet diabetes is at a late stage in the continuum of Diabetes disease. At the prediabetes stage, you can reverse the development of Type 2 diabetes.

Now you know, go for a checkup read the figures, and beat prediabetes early before you develop Type 2 diabetes.

At dimpedibateshealthpro.com we dedicate to providing diabetes information to keep you diabetes-free.

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wishing you the utmost good health-Afya Bora Zaidi

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