Definition
The altered fasting glycaemia or IFG (acronym of Impaired Fasting Glucose ) is a condition in which blood glucose levels, detected in fasting for at least eight hours, exceed the normal limit excessively while remaining below the values that sanction the diabetic state.
Health risks
The altered fasting blood glucose is accompanied by insulin resistance and an increased cardiovascular risk; it can also develop into established type II diabetes mellitus, with a 50% risk that this progression will manifest itself in the decade following the diagnosis.
The altered fasting blood sugar is a warning that reminds us of two very important things. The first is that type II diabetes mellitus does not suddenly strike, but in most cases, if not always, it passes through a reversible and not exactly pathological condition that lasts for years. This condition, which we can identify in the altered fasting glycaemia, does not give any particular symptoms, which is why after the forty-fifth birthday, especially in the presence of overweight and familiarity with the disease, it is necessary to watch one's blood sugar carefully. If this assessment is negative, the test must be repeated after three years.
For the high-risk population (pre-diabetic states, familiarity with diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, mothers of macrosomic newborns), instead, diagnostic investigations should be taken into consideration more early and be performed at least once a year .
Although they are not real diseases, the finding of pre-diabetic states must never be underestimated, as they represent an important risk factor for the future development of overt diabetes, in addition to being associated with an increased incidence of atherosclerotic pathology and in particular of ischemic heart disease.
Diagnositci criteria
The altered fasting glycaemia (IFG) should not be confused with the altered glucose tolerance (IGT), even if the two conditions can coexist.
The diagnosis of IGT is made through the so-called oral glucose load, in which the patient's glycemic response to the ingestion of 75 grams of glucose dissolved in water is recorded over time; if after two hours blood glucose levels are above certain threshold values (> 140 mg / dL but less than 200 mg / dL), this is called IGT. This condition presents a greater risk of evolution into full-blown diabetes than IFG and this is why after finding an altered fasting blood glucose very often the doctor directs the patient towards an oral glucose load test.
Pre-diabetic states are represented by reduced glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG).
Depending on the sources we talk about impaired fasting blood glucose when the blood sugar levels measured on a small venous blood sample, taken after a fast for at least 8 hours (only water is allowed), result in:
- greater than or equal to 110 mg / dL (6.1 mmol / L), but still less than 126 mg / dL (6.9 mmol / L, which are pathognomic of diabetes) - WHO World Health Organization guidelines -
- greater than or equal to 100 mg / dL (5.6 mmol / L), but still less than 126 mg / dL (6.9 mmol / L, which are pathognomic of diabetes) - ADA American Diabetes Association guidelines .
What to do
In the presence of prediabetes, often the simple correction of lifestyles brings everything back to normal. After finding an altered fasting blood sugar, therefore, the doctor will not prescribe drugs but he will advise to intervene with a diet more attentive to caloric excesses and at the same time richer in vegetables and lower in saturated fats and carbohydrates, in particular those simple (sweets, sugary drinks, industrial fruit juices, snacks, chocolates and good company).
To learn more, read: Example diet for Diabetes Mellitus type 2
Dietary intervention will be accompanied by greater physical activity, the more important the person is overweight. No one, however, will ask you to turn into athletes: brisk walking for thirty minutes a day (or at least doing it 4 times a week) and preferring some healthy flight of stairs to the elevator is an extraordinarily effective strategy to prevent diabetes and to improve the general well-being and the lipidemic profile (cholesterolemia, triglyceridemia, etc.).
To learn more, read: Physical activity and type 2 diabetes
