Impaired glucose tolerance

Prediabetes is the precursor stage before diabetes mellitus in which not all of the symptoms required to diagnose diabetes are present, but blood sugar is abnormally high. This stage is often referred to as the 'grey area'. It is not a disease; the American Diabetes Association says, 'Prediabetes should not be viewed as a clinical entity in its own right but rather as an increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Prediabetes is associated with obesity (especially abdominal or visceral obesity), dyslipidemia with high triglycerides and/or low HDL cholesterol, and hypertension.' It is thus a metabolic diathesis or syndrome, and it usually involves no symptoms and only high blood sugar as the sole sign. Prediabetes is the precursor stage before diabetes mellitus in which not all of the symptoms required to diagnose diabetes are present, but blood sugar is abnormally high. This stage is often referred to as the 'grey area'. It is not a disease; the American Diabetes Association says, 'Prediabetes should not be viewed as a clinical entity in its own right but rather as an increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Prediabetes is associated with obesity (especially abdominal or visceral obesity), dyslipidemia with high triglycerides and/or low HDL cholesterol, and hypertension.' It is thus a metabolic diathesis or syndrome, and it usually involves no symptoms and only high blood sugar as the sole sign. Impaired fasting blood sugar and impaired glucose tolerance are two forms of prediabetes that are similar in clinical definition (glucose levels too high for their context) but are physiologically distinct. Insulin resistance, the insulin resistance syndrome (metabolic syndrome or syndrome X), and prediabetes are closely related to one another and have overlapping aspects. Prediabetes typically has no distinct signs or symptoms except the sole sign of high blood sugar. Patients should monitor for signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus such as increased thirst, increased urination, and feeling tired. Prediabetes develops when the body becomes insulin resistant or unable to use insulin. Some risk factors for diabetes are family history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, increased triglyceride levels, low levels of HDL (good cholesterol), obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting plasma glucose, women who have had gestational diabetes, had high birth weight babies (greater than 9 lbs.), and/or have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) These are associated with insulin resistance and are risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Those in this stratum (IGT or IFG) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Of the two, impaired glucose tolerance better predicts cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a way, prediabetes is a misnomer since it is an early stage of diabetes. It now is known that the health complications associated with type 2 diabetes often occur before the medical diagnosis of diabetes is made. Type 2 DM, which is the condition for which prediabetes is a precursor, has 90–100% concordance in twins; there is no HLA association. Genetics play a relatively small role, however, in the widespread occurrence of type 2 diabetes. This may be deduced logically from the huge increase in the occurrence of type 2 diabetes that has correlated with the significant change in western lifestyle and diet. As the human genome is further explored, it is possible) that multiple genetic anomalies at different loci will be found that confer varying degrees of predisposition to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases that are characterised by hyperglycaemia and defects in insulin production in the pancreas and/or impaired tolerance to insulin effects. DM is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Because the disease may be insidious, the diagnosis often is delayed. Effects of the disease may affect larger blood vessels (e.g., atherosclerosis within the larger arteries of the cardiovascular system) or smaller blood vessels, as seen with damage to the retina of the eye, damage to the kidney, and damage to the nerves.