1/19/2017 DiabetesTests&Diagnosis|NIDDK

Diabetes Tests & Diagnosis

Yourhealthcareprofessionalcandiagnosediabetes,prediabetes,andgestationaldiabetesthroughblood
tests.Thebloodtestsshowifyourbloodglucose,alsocalledbloodsugar,istoohigh.

Donottrytodiagnoseyourselfifyouthinkyoumighthavediabetes.Testingequipmentthatyoucanbuy
overthecounter,suchasabloodglucosemeter,cannotdiagnosediabetes.

Who should be tested for diabetes?

Anyonewhohassymptomsofdiabetesshouldbetestedfor
thedisease.Somepeoplewillnothaveanysymptomsbut
mayhaveriskfactorsfordiabetesandneedtobetested.
Testingallowshealthcareprofessionalstofinddiabetes
soonerandworkwiththeirpatientstomanagediabetesand
preventcomplications.

Testingalsoallowshealthcareprofessionalstofind
prediabetes.Makinglifestylechangestoloseamodest
Blood tests help health care
amountofweightifyouareoverweightmayhelpyoudelayor professionals diagnose diabetes
preventtype2diabetes. and prediabetes.

Type 1 diabetes
Mostoften,testingfortype1diabetesoccursinpeoplewithdiabetessymptoms.Doctorsusuallydiagnose
type1diabetesinchildrenandyoungadults.Becausetype1diabetescanruninfamilies,astudycalled

TrialNetoffersfreetestingtofamilymembers ofpeoplewiththedisease,eveniftheydonthave
symptoms.

Type 2 diabetes
Expertsrecommendroutinetestingfortype2diabetesifyou

areage45orolder
arebetweentheagesof19and44,areoverweightorobese,andhaveoneormoreotherdiabetesrisk
factors
areawomanwhohadgestationaldiabetes1

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Medicarecoversthecostofdiabetestestsforpeoplewithcertainriskfactorsfordiabetes.Ifyouhave

Medicare,findoutifyouqualifyforcoverage .Ifyouhavedifferentinsurance,askyourinsurance
companyifitcoversdiabetestests.

Thoughtype2diabetesmostoftendevelopsinadults,childrenalsocandeveloptype2diabetes.Experts
recommendtestingchildrenbetweentheagesof10and18whoareoverweightorobeseandhaveatleast

twootherriskfactorsfordevelopingdiabetes.1

lowbirthweight
amotherwhohaddiabeteswhilepregnantwiththem
anyriskfactormentionedinRiskFactorsforType2Diabetes

Gestational diabetes
Allpregnantwomenwhodonothaveapriordiabetesdiagnosisshouldbetestedforgestationaldiabetes.

Ifyouarepregnant,youwilltakeaglucosechallengetestbetween24and28weeksofpregnancy.1

What tests are used to diagnose diabetes and

prediabetes?
Healthcareprofessionalsmostoftenusethefastingplasmaglucose(FPG)testortheA1Ctesttodiagnose
diabetes.Insomecases,theymayusearandomplasmaglucose(RPG)test.

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test

TheFPGbloodtestmeasuresyourbloodglucoselevelatasinglepointintime.Forthemostreliable
results,itisbesttohavethistestinthemorning,afteryoufastforatleast8hours.Fastingmeanshaving
nothingtoeatordrinkexceptsipsofwater.

A1C test
TheA1Ctestisabloodtestthatprovidesyouraveragelevelsofbloodglucoseoverthepast3months.
OthernamesfortheA1CtestarehemoglobinA1C,HbA1C,glycatedhemoglobin,andglycosylated

hemoglobintest.Youcaneatanddrinkbeforethistest.WhenitcomestousingtheA1Ctodiagnose
diabetes,yourdoctorwillconsiderfactorssuchasyourageandwhetheryouhaveanemia oranother

problemwithyourblood.1TheA1Ctestisnotaccurateinpeoplewithanemia.

YourhealthcareprofessionalwillreportyourA1Ctestresultasapercentage,suchasanA1Cof7percent.
Thehigherthepercentage,thehigheryouraveragebloodglucoselevels.

PeoplewithdiabetesalsouseinformationfromtheA1Ctesttohelpmanagetheirdiabetes.

Random plasma glucose (RPG) test

SometimeshealthcareprofessionalsusetheRPGtesttodiagnosediabeteswhendiabetessymptomsare
presentandtheydonotwanttowaituntilyouhavefasted.YoudonotneedtofastovernightfortheRPG

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test.Youmayhavethisbloodtestatanytime.

What tests are used to diagnose gestational diabetes?

Pregnantwomenmayhavetheglucosechallengetest,theoralglucosetolerancetest,orboth.Thesetests
showhowwellyourbodyhandlesglucose.

Glucose challenge test

Ifyouarepregnantandahealthcareprofessionalischeckingyouforgestationaldiabetes,youmayfirst
receivetheglucosechallengetest.Anothernameforthistestistheglucosescreeningtest.Inthistest,a
healthcareprofessionalwilldrawyourblood1hourafteryoudrinkasweetliquidcontainingglucose.You
donotneedtofastforthistest.Ifyourbloodglucoseistoohigh135to140ormoreyoumayneedto
returnforanoralglucosetolerancetestwhilefasting.

Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)

TheOGTTmeasuresbloodglucoseafteryoufastforatleast8hours.First,ahealthcareprofessionalwill
drawyourblood.Thenyouwilldrinktheliquidcontainingglucose.Fordiagnosinggestationaldiabetes,
youwillneedyourblooddrawneveryhourfor2to3hours.

HighbloodglucoselevelsatanytwoormorebloodtesttimesduringtheOGTTfasting,1hour,2hours,
or3hoursmeanyouhavegestationaldiabetes.YourhealthcareteamwillexplainwhatyourOGTT
resultsmean.

HealthcareprofessionalsalsocanusetheOGTTtodiagnosetype2diabetesandprediabetesinpeople
whoarenotpregnant.TheOGTThelpshealthcareprofessionalsdetecttype2diabetesandprediabetes
betterthantheFPGtest.However,theOGTTisamoreexpensivetestandisnotaseasytogive.To
diagnosetype2diabetesandprediabetes,ahealthcareprofessionalwillneedtodrawyourblood1hour
afteryoudrinktheliquidcontainingglucoseandagainafter2hours.

What test numbers tell me if I have diabetes or

prediabetes?
Eachtesttodetectdiabetesandprediabetesusesadifferentmeasurement.Usually,thesametestmethod
needstoberepeatedonaseconddaytodiagnosediabetes.Yourdoctormayalsouseasecondtestmethod
toconfirmthatyouhavediabetes.

Thefollowingtablehelpsyouunderstandwhatyourtestnumbersmeanifyouarenotpregnant.

A1C Fastingplasma Oralglucosetolerance Randomplasma

Diagnosis
(percent) glucose(FPG)a test(OGTT)ab glucosetest(RPG)a
Normal below5.7 99orbelow 139orbelow
Prediabetes 5.6t06.4 100to125 140to199
6.5or
Diabetes 126orabove 200orabove 200orabove
above

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a
Glucosevaluesareinmilligramsperdeciliter,ormg/dL.

b
At2hoursafterdrinking75gramsofglucose.Todiagnosegestationaldiabetes,healthcareprofessionalsgivemoreglucose
todrinkandusedifferentnumbersascutoffs.

Source:AdaptedfromAmericanDiabetesAssociation.Classificationanddiagnosisofdiabetes.DiabetesCare.
201639(1):S14S20,tables2.1,2.3.

Which tests help my health care professional know what

kind of diabetes I have?
Eventhoughthetestsdescribedherecanconfirmthatyouhavediabetes,theycantidentifywhattypeyou
have.Sometimeshealthcareprofessionalsareunsureifdiabetesistype1ortype2.Araretypeofdiabetes
thatcanoccurinbabies,calledmonogenicdiabetes,canalsobemistakenfortype1diabetes.Treatment
dependsonthetypeofdiabetes,soknowingwhichtypeyouhaveisimportant.

Tofindoutifyourdiabetesistype1,yourhealthcareprofessionalmaylookforcertainautoantibodies.
Autoantibodiesareantibodiesthatmistakenlyattackyourhealthytissuesandcells.Thepresenceofoneor
moreofseveraltypesofautoantibodiesspecifictodiabetesiscommonintype1diabetes,butnotintype2
ormonogenicdiabetes.Ahealthcareprofessionalwillhavetodrawyourbloodforthistest.

Ifyouhaddiabeteswhileyouwerepregnant,youshouldgettested6to12weeksafteryourbabyisbornto
seeifyouhavetype2diabetes.

References
1
AmericanDiabetesAssociation.Classificationanddiagnosisofdiabetes.DiabetesCare.201639(Suppl.1):S13S22.

November2016

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ContactUs

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Health Information Center

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