What is Prediabetes?
Understanding the warning signs—and how to stay healthy
What is it?
Prediabetes means that your body is showing signs that could lead to type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes have too much glucose (a kind of sugar) in their blood, which can lead to serious health problems. In prediabetes, there is too much glucose in the blood, but not as much as in diabetes.
How do I know if I have it?
People with prediabetes often have no symptoms at all. Your health care provider may decide to test you for prediabetes because of your age, weight, family history of diabetes, ethnicity, history of diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes), or other health factors. Three different blood tests may be used to look for prediabetes: fasting plasma glucose (FPG), …
In this Issue
April 2013, 31(2)
