Random Testing Could Help Predict Diabetes

Random plasma glucose testing could be effective at identifying adults at an increased risk of diabetes, according to a recent study of Veterans Affairs data.

Because many adults with diabetes are undiagnosed, the researchers sought to examine the effects of routine outpatient random plasma glucose (RPG) testing on rates of diabetes diagnosis in a retrospective cohort study of 942,446 US veterans.

Read More...
Neal Barnard, MD, on Why Ignoring Nutrition Is Not Optional in Diabetes
What Do You Need to Know About Diabetes and Foot Care?

Over 5 years, 94,599 patients received diagnoses of diabetes. Those with diabetes had higher average BMI (32 vs 28 kg/m2) and RPG (150 vs 107 mg/dl), and were more likely to be black (18% vs 15%) than those without diabetes. Specifically, those patients with at least 2 measurements of 115 mg/dL or higher within a 12-month period were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes within 5 years.

“In conclusion, random plasma glucose levels well below the conventional “diagnostic” range appear to provide good discrimination for follow-up diagnosis of diabetes. Use of such levels–obtained opportunistically, during outpatient visits–to signal the need for definitive testing might lead to earlier identification, and permit initiation of preventive management, but would need confirmation in other cohorts.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Rhee MK, Ho Y, Raghavan S, et al. Random plasma glucose predicts the diagnosis of diabetes [published online July 19, 2019]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219964.