Recommendations: Testing for Diabetes in Asymptomatic Patients

Recommendations for testing for diabetes in asymptomatic patients are summarized on this slide; testing should be considered in adults of any age with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and one or more of the known risk factors for diabetes For many illnesses, there is major distinction between screening and diagnostic testing; however, for diabetes, the same tests would be used for “screening” as for diagnosis A1C, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), or 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (2-h OGTT) are appropriate to test for diabetes The same assays used for testing for diabetes will also detect individuals with prediabetes In adults, prediabetes and diabetes meet established criteria for conditions in which early detection is appropriate; both conditions are common, increasing in prevalence, and impose significant health burdens There is a long presymptomatic phase before the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is usually made; relatively simple tests are available to detect preclinical disease Additionally, the duration of glycemic burden is a strong predictor of adverse outcomes, and effective interventions exist to prevent progression of prediabetes to diabetes (see Section IV. Prevention/Delay of Type 2 Diabetes) and to reduce risk of complications of diabetes (see Section VI. Prevention and Management of Diabetes Complications)13Reference American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes—2013. Diabetes Care 2013;36(suppl 1):S13.