Fasting blood glucose is a blood test that measures glucose levels in the bloodstream and should be performed after an 8- to 12-hour fast, or as recommended by your doctor, without consuming any food or drink except water.diagnosis of diabetes and to control blood glucose levels in people with diabetes or at risk of developing the disease.
In addition, for more reliable results, this test can be controlled in conjunction with others that also evaluate these changes, such as the oral glucose tolerance test (or TOTG) and glucose hemoglobin, especially if a change in glucose test is observed.Fasting Learn more about tests that confirm diabetes.
The reference values for fasting blood glucose are
To confirm the diagnosis of diabetes, when the blood glucose value is equal to or greater than 126 mg / dL, it is necessary to repeat the test another day, since at least 2 samples are recommended, in addition to the need to perform the glyc hemoglobin test and oral glucose tolerance test.
When the test values are between 100 and 125 mg/dL, this means that fasting blood glucose is altered, i.e. the person has prediabetes, a situation in which the disease has not yet settled, but there is an increased risk of development.Learn more about what it is and how to treat prediabetes.
The fasting blood glucose test during pregnancy is part of the prenatal routine and can be performed at any trimester of pregnancy, but the reference values are different.Therefore, for pregnant women, when fasting blood sugar is higher than 92 mg/dL, this may be a case.gestational diabetes, however, the main diagnostic test for this condition is the glycemic curve or TOTG.Find out what it means and how the glycemic curve is tested.
Preparation for the fasting blood glucose test includes not eating foods or beverages that contain calories for at least 8 hours and should not exceed 12 hours of fasting.
It is recommended to maintain the usual diet the week before the test and, in addition, it is important not to consume alcohol, avoid caffeine and not exercise thoroughly the day before the test.
This test is often requested by doctors to monitor the presence of diabetes mellitus, a condition that causes an increase in blood sugar, or to control blood sugar in those already being treated for the disease.
This survey is usually conducted for everyone over the age of 45, every 3 years, but it can be done in younger people or in less time, if there are risk factors for diabetes, such as:
If your blood glucose level is altered or the glucose tolerance detected in previous tests is altered, it is also recommended to repeat the test once a year.