I'm not sure what you mean Guy... but here are some fasting numbers and
their "meanings".

Anything 126 or above on two separate occasions is a diagnosis of diabetes.

Normal non-diabetic for fasting is under 100.

Between 100 and 125 is impaired glucose tolerance.

Does that help?

Jennifer

was it a questioned asked on why it is used to diagnose diabetes
or what is its importance to us diabetics?

Expert Committee Redefines Impaired Fasting Glucose

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- Mathematical Model Accurately Predicts Best Diabetes Treatments -

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of adults who have
pre-diabetes, a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes, is expected to
rise by roughly 20 percent under new criteria being laid out this month in
the scientific journal Diabetes Care. The new criteria are presented in a
report compiled by an International Expert Committee to reexamine the
classification and diagnostic criteria for diabetes.

Under the new definition, the cutpoint for normal fasting blood glucose
levels was dropped from 110 mg/dl to 100 mg/dl, meaning that a value of 100
mg/dl or above would lead to a diagnosis of impaired fasting glucose (IFG),
which is included in the term pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is the state that
occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not
yet high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Studies show that many people
who fall in the pre-diabetic range will go on to develop diabetes within 10
years.

"Lowering the threshold should help pick up more people who are at increased
risk for developing diabetes," said Saul Genuth, MD, Professor of Medicine
at Case Western Reserve University, who chaired the Expert Committee.
"What's important about that is that we now know -- through studies such as
the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and the Finnish Diabetes Study -- that
we can prevent or delay the progression to diabetes from impaired glucose
tolerance (IGT), the original component with the term pre-diabetes, through
intensive lifestyle treatment, such as exercise and diet therapy. We hope,
but don't yet know, that intervening earlier might also reduce the risk of
diabetic complications, including cardiovascular complications."

People with pre-diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease,
compared to people with blood glucose levels in the normal range. The DPP
and other studies have shown that people with pre-diabetes can prevent or
delay the development of type 2 diabetes by up to 58 percent through changes
to their lifestyle that include modest weight loss and regular exercise.

The Committee did not redefine the criteria for the diagnosis of diabetes
and recommended against using the A1C (a test that measures average blood
glucose levels over 2-3 months) as a routine diagnostic test for diabetes.
There are currently two tests used to diagnose diabetes: the fasting plasma
glucose (FPG) or the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The Committee
recognizes both tests as valid but continued to recommend the FPG as the
preferred diagnostic tool because it is more convenient and less expensive.
The Committee found there is currently inadequate clinical evidence that
either test is superior.

Dr. Genuth said anyone who is at high risk of developing diabetes from risk
factors such as obesity, family history, or gestational diabetes, and who
has not been tested within the past few years, should ask for a
diabetes/pre- diabetes screening. The American Diabetes Association
recommends that anyone 45 years or older, particularly if they are
overweight or obese, be tested and, if normal, retested every three years.

Mathematical Model Accurately Predicts Best Treatment Options
In the first study of its kind, researchers have shown that a mathematical
model called Archimedes can accurately predict the outcomes and most
successful treatment options for people who have diabetes. Two studies in
the November issue of Diabetes Care compared analyses run by Archimedes
against actual clinical trial results. In both studies, involving a total of
18 clinical trials and 74 clinical outcomes, Archimedes was 99 percent
accurate in its predictions. The November issue also includes two editorials
on this topic.

Archimedes, developed and owned by Kaiser Permanente, a non-profit managed
care organization, can be used to analyze numerous types of health care
problems, such as the design of a clinical practice guideline, the
implementation of a disease management program, the design or extension of a
clinical trial, or the prediction of outcomes people can expect from various
treatment options. Using Archimedes, people with diabetes will be able to
ask specific questions (such as those they might ask of a doctor) and get
back answers that draw upon the best available information from clinical
trials, tailored to their particular cases. Kaiser Permanente, in
partnership with the American Diabetes Association, is working to make
Archimedes available at no cost to physicians and to the public.

Diabetes Care, published by the American Diabetes Association, is the
leading peer-reviewed journal of clinical research into the nation's sixth
leading cause of death. Diabetes also is a leading cause of heart disease
and stroke, as well as the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure
and non-traumatic amputations. For more information about diabetes, visit
the American Diabetes Association Web site www.diabetes.org or call
1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

Web site: http://www.diabetes.org/