Cause
- Sleep disorders
- Family history of diabetes
- Impaired glucose levels and/or metabolic syndrome
- Cardiovascular disease
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Increased triglycerides levels
- Low levels of good cholesterol (HDL)
- Overweight or obese
- Women who have had gestational diabetes, had high birth weight babies (greater than 9 lbs.), and/or has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
These are associated with insulin resistance and are risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Those in this stratum (IGT or IFG) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Of the two, impaired glucose tolerance better predicts cardiovascular disease and mortality.
In a way, prediabetes is a misnomer since it is an early stage of diabetes. It is now known that the health complications associated with type 2 diabetes often occur before the medical diagnosis of diabetes is made.
Read more about this topic: Prediabetes