Epidemiological aspects of prediabetes--review of the current data.

ABSTRACT

The term 'prediabetes' has been used to describe the condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet diabetic and includes the two abnormalities, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG). Subsequent to the American Diabetes Associaton (ADA) recommendation to adjust downward the normal fasting glucose level from 110 to 100 mg/dl, the prevalence of IFG has increased by 2 to 4 fold. The demonstration by recent randomised controlled trials that type 2 diabetes mellitus is preventable has raised hope for the possibility of reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes. Interventions like lifestyle modification and pharmacological therapy are recommended in individuals with prediabetes to achieve the goal of prevention of diabetes in high -risk population.