Current tests to diagnose diabetes include a fasting blood sugar, which requires the patient to fast for hours (usually overnight), and an oral glucose tolerance test, which requires the patient to drink a sickeningly sweet concoction and then have blood drawn following. Although these tests are accurate, they are inconvenient, and sometimes unpleasant, for patients.
Experts from several groups, including the American Diabetes Association and several international groups, have determined in conjunction that the hemoglobin A1C, which requires only a small sample of blood and can be drawn anytime, is just as accurate as the other tests for diagnosing diabetes.
What is a hemoglobin AIC? This simple blood test measures average blood sugar levels over the previous several weeks, and reports the result as a number. This number represents the percentage of damaged hemoglobin, which occurs as a result of consistently high blood sugars. What is considered normal? An A1C level of 5% is considered normal--a level of 6.5% or higher means a diagnosis of diabetes.
What are the symptoms of new onset diabetes? They may include the following:
Excessive thirst (polydypsia)
Excessive urination (polyuria)
Fatigue
Abdominal pain
Numbness and tingling (neuropathy)
Blurred vision
Frequent infections
Wounds that don’t heal properly
Often the signs of Type 2 diabetes will be present for a long time before the person seeks help, or it may be diagnosed “accidentally”. Type 1 diabetics generally become very ill faster.
Risk factors for diabetes include obesity, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and high blood pressure, as well as having a family history. Patients with these risk factors should be screened yearly staring at age 45, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association.
Related Links:
Gestational Diabetes Testing from Health Guru
Diagnosing Diabetes from Endocrine Web
Type 2 Diabetes: Risk Factors from the Mayo Clinic
