Diabetic Seniors

To determine if a patient has onset or even a high risk for diabetes, a doctor will typically order and perform a diabetes diagnostic test. Usually, a diabetes diagnostic test follows eight hours of fasting, as with a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The FPG test is the preferred diabetes diagnostic test, and if it returns a positive result, should be followed in a few days with another FPG test to confirm the condition of pre-diabetes or onset diabetes.

The OGTT is a more sensitive test and therefore often considered a better diabetes diagnostic test to identify the existence of a pre-diabetes condition. The OGTT is a diabetes diagnostic test that involves eight hours of fasting with a glucose level check before and up to two hours following the drinking of a liquid containing a specific amount of glucose dissolved in water. An OGTT is also used as a specific diabetes diagnostic test to help identify gestational diabetes, and as with the FPG test, specific results in an OGTT must be repeated in a later test to confirm a diagnosis.

There are many different criteria to determine if you should perform a diabetes diagnostic test, and it is highly suggested that you discuss any concerns or questions you have about diabetes or these tests with a qualified physician.

Tags: Criteria for Diagnosis, Diabetes Diagnostic Test, Diabetis Diagnostic Test, diagnosing diabetes