What are the signs and symptoms?
People with imparied glucose tolerance (IGT) often have no symptoms. In fact, millions of people have diabetes and don’t know it because symptoms develop so gradually, people often don’t recognize them. Symptoms of diabetes include the following:
- frequent urination
- constant thirst
- always being tired
- blurred vision
- cuts and bruises that are slow to heal
- frequent infections
- tingling or numbness in your hands or feet
How is IGT diagnosed?
IGT is diagnosed using the oral glucose tolerance test. After fasting for at least 8 hours, a person’s blood glucose is measured before and 2 hours after drinking a glucose-containing solution solution containing 75 grams of glucose.
- A person with normal tolerance has a blood glucose level below 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after drinking the glucose solution.
- A person with impaired glucose tolerance has a blood glucose level between 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) and 11.0 mmol/L (199mg/dL) after 2 hours.
- A person with a 2-hour glucose level of 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) or higher may have diabetes.
How often should I be tested?
If your blood glucose levels are in the normal range, it is reasonable to be retested every 3 years. If you have IGT, you should be tested for type 2 diabetes every year after your diagnosis.
Prevention
If you are at risk of developing IGT, you can help delay or prevent the onset with healthy eating (focusing on vegetables, fruit, whole-grain breads and cereals, choosing low-fat milk, and eating lean meats and meals with little or no added salt, sugar, alcohol, or sugar), weight loss, quitting smoking, and regular exercise.
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