Blood tests are the first ways to identify and diagnose diabetes. There are four blood tests to identify if you have developed diabetes.
Over the past couple of decades, Diabetes has grown as one of the major threats to human life. As this sickness can affect important internal organs like the heart and kidneys, one needs to be cautious of this.
The first thing to prevent Diabetes is to diagnose and identify the sickness in the early stages of it. Let’s have a look at how it can be diagnosed.
Blood Tests
Blood tests are the first ways to identify and diagnose diabetes. There are four blood tests to identify if you have developed diabetes.
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Fasting Plasma Glucose Level
In this first type of blood tests, your blood is tested after refraining from foods (fasting or not taking foods) for at least eight hours. If you get the result of blood glucose level as 7.0 mmol/L or higher, the doctor may then diagnose you with diabetes.
If your glucose level is anything between 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L, your doctor will diagnose you with prediabetes which is also known as impaired fasting glucose. Prediabetes can lead to diabetes. Hence, one needs to be careful about it.
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A1C Test
One’s A1C or glycated hemoglobin reflects his or her average levels of glucose in blood for the past two or three months. Doctors will diagnose you with diabetes if your A1C is 6.5% or above.
Similarly, if your A1C falls between 6.0% and 6.4%, then you are diagnosed with prediabetes. It is important to note that this blood test cannot be used to diagnose diabetes in children, pregnant woman and adolescents. This is also not useful in diagnosing Type 1 Diabetes either.
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Random Plasma Glucose Level
Random Plasma Glucose Level can be done at any time regardless of when you ate last. However, the metrics are higher compared to the Fasting plasma glucose level.
Under this method, one person is diagnosed with diabetes when his blood glucose levels are 11.1 mmol/L or higher.
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)
Under Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), one’s blood glucose is checked multiple times to diagnose diabetes. The first testing is done after 8 hours of fasting and after giving you a drink of carbohydrate solution of 75g, while the second one is taken after two hours of this test.
Blood glucose is checked at fasting and after two hours to see the differences. Your doctor may diagnose diabetes if your blood glucose is 11.1 mmol/L or higher.
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If your blood glucose level is between 7.8 to 11.1 mmol/L after two hours of drinking carbohydrate solution, then you will be diagnosed with prediabetes. This is the most recommended method for identifying gestational diabetes.
