Diabetes Mellitus Blog

Diabetes Diagnosed

How is diabetes diagnosed?

Diabetes is diagnosed by measuring the amount of blood glucose (blood sugar). The ideal way is measured in venous blood and the person fasting. To this figure we call fasting glycaemia.

There are other ways and circumstances to measure the amount of glucose in the blood glucose measured in capillary blood (finger clicking) or in people who are not fasting, these figures can help or even guide the diagnosis, but which should be used as reliable for the diagnosis, venous blood glucose and with the subject fasting (venous plasma fasting glucose).

There is a test called the Test of Oral Glucose Tolerance (OGTT) which involves administering a given amount of glucose to the fasting person and see how it behaves in the blood glucose over a certain time. That helps us determine whether that person has altered the mechanisms of metabolism of glucose. This test is used today almost exclusively in pregnant women.

What are the numbers of normal blood glucose and from when we talk about diabetes?

The amount of glucose in blood is considered normal when less than 110 mg / dl.

We talked about Diabetes Mellitus, if …

The fasting plasma glucose greater than or equal venous 126 mg / dl (7 mmol / l) at least twice.
There are symptoms of diabetes (see above) and a random plasma glucose greater than or equal venous 200 mg / dl (11.1 mmol / l). Although you’re not fasting. No need for a second determination.
The venous plasma glucose at 2 hours after oral loading test with 75 g of glucose is greater than or equal to 200 mg / dl (11.1 mmol / l).