Does a fasting glucose of 112 indicate prediabetes?

Here is my answer to this question posed in another forum.

The fasting blood glucose cutoff for diabetes is 125.

Normal maximum currently is 100. It used to be 125, then it was lowered to 115 and then 110. And finally to 100.

Today, a reading in the range of 100-125 is called by various names: Impaired Glucose Tolerance, Insulin Resistant, Prediabetic, etc.

For a non-diabetic, the fasting blood glucose number is generally very low. Even if the non-diabetic has eaten a lot of carbs in their last meal the previous day, the FBG in a lab will be low 100.

In my own case, as I looked at my blood test reports from physicals I had had each year for the 15 years before I was diagnosed, I saw a clear trend in the FBG creeping up ever so slowly.

You can do two things.

1. Ask for a second FBG test in a different lab, if possible. And if the reading is in the 100 - 125 range and depending on your age, blood pressure, cholestrol conditions which cause what is known as the metabolic syndrome, you may be pre-diabetic. In which case, you should take all actions required to control diabetes through diet and exercise and "cut it off at the pass" .

2. Take comfort in the fact that your post-prandial readings are so good. You have not crossed over into the realm of diabetics. This is a more telling test, in my opinion, of your current condition. Again, going from personal experience, the body's inability to process carbs efficiently and the body's cells' inability to accept glucose via insulin - both these abilities decrease gradually and when diabetic controls are compromised, the post-meal readings - the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test is a proxy for post-meal sugar control assessment - leave no doubt at all. In other words, if you were diabetic, all your OGTT readings would show that clearly. You may want to repeat this test again as well for your peace of mind.

I think you are still in good shape and can avoid the full-blown diabetes if you start learning about what you need to do and make those changes quickly.