A forerunner to the onset of type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes levels of blood glucose are elevated yet not high enough to diagnose diabetes. Risk factors for developing pre-diabetes are obesity, inactivity, high blood pressure, high HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, are 45 years or older, have a family history of type 2 diabetes, or had gestational diabetes, suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome or sleep less than six or more than nine hours a night. There are no signs or symptoms of pre-diabetes, often with the first noticeable changes marking the onset of type 2 diabetes. It is recommended that individuals with the above risk factors get screened for pre-diabetes. Additionally, at risk individuals should be familiar with the first symptoms of type 2 diabetes: frequent urination, excess thirst, fatigue, and blurred vision. Evidence suggests that the high glucose levels of pre-diabetes are sufficient to cause organ damage and other complications related …

The relationship between pre diabetes and A1C, also known as glycated hemoglobin, has been shown to be an indicator and useful tool in the diagnosis of pre diabetics. Doctors normally administer one or more tests, such as a simple routine blood test, fasting plasma glucose test (FPG), or A1C test, to individuals displaying symptoms of pre diabetes. While all will measure blood glucose levels there is evidence suggesting that the A1C test is the most reliable and accurate.  

The FPG test measures the level of blood glucose after fasting for a minimum of eight hours. The difficulty of the FPG test is that a second test is often necessary and the need for retesting increases if the patient has not fasted properly. For this reason the A1C test is considered superior. The A1C checks the blood glucose levels of individuals from the previous two to three months, measuring glycated …

The use of diet and exercise in the management of diabetes and A1C levels kept at a healthy range significantly reduces the risk of developing complications of diabetes. A1C levels are given in percentage form, indicating the percent of hemoglobin A that has been converted by the presence of sugar into hemoglobin A1C. A1C percentage values can be converted into average blood glucose (mg/dL) which is often more familiar to patients. The American Diabetes Association’s ClinicalDiabetes journal uses the following values to assess diabetes control and health risk based on A1C. A1C less than or equal to 6% (135 mg/dL) shows an excellent degree of control of glucose and very low risk. 7% (170 mg/dL) is considered excellent with low risk while 8% (205 mg/dL) shows a good degree of control and good risk. Medium risk is 9% (240 mg/dL) with a fair degree of control. 10% AIC (275 mg/dL) …