Borderline Diabetes

Has your doctor or someone you know told you that you have “borderline diabetes”?

There is no such thing as borderline diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, the definition of diabetes is “a former term for Type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance”.

Most people who have been told they have "borderline" diabetes actually have diabetes or may have pre-diabetes. People with blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet in the diabetic range have “pre-diabetes”.

To be diagnosed with pre-diabetes, you must have one of the following:

• Blood sugar higher than normal but not high enough for diabetes diagnosis

• Impaired fasting glucose = (blood sugar) of 100 – 125 mg/dL
-A test that measures your blood sugar after you have gone overnight without eating

• Impaired glucose tolerance= blood sugar of 140 – 199 mg/dL
-A test 2 hours after a meal or glucose tolerance test (sweet liquid given at the doctor’s office or laboratory

You may also be told you have insulin resistance. This means your body is producing insulin but the insulin is not able to work properly, causing the blood sugar to be high. The tests mentioned above indicate insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.

Also, review our Prevention section. The number one cause of death among type 2 diabetics is heart disease. As a result, tight blood sugar control as well as tight blood pressure and cholesterol control are required to improve survival with this disease.