Diagnosing Diabetes
Answers to common questions about diagnosing diabetes.
Questions on this page
What is HbA1c?
HbA1c is a blood test that gives an estimate of your average blood glucose over approximately the previous 2–3 months.
What HbA1c means diabetes?
An HbA1c of 6.5% or higher can indicate diabetes when appropriately confirmed. Diabetes Journals Reference
What fasting sugar means diabetes?
A fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL or higher is in the diabetes range. Confirmation is generally required if there is no clear symptomatic hyperglycaemia. Diabetes Journals Reference
What is a normal fasting sugar?
For a person without diabetes, fasting plasma glucose below 100 mg/dL is considered normal by standard diagnostic criteria.
What is an OGTT?
OGTT stands for oral glucose tolerance test.
You drink a measured glucose solution and your blood glucose is checked after a specified period, usually 2 hours.
Can one high sugar test diagnose diabetes?
Not always.
If there are no clear symptoms or hyperglycaemic crisis, an abnormal result generally needs confirmation with another appropriate test or repeat testing. Diabetes Journals Reference