Health care professionals should adopt the World Health Organisation's new criteria for diagnosing diabetes from June 1, according to the British Diabetic Association. Along with changes to diagnostic criteria, the WHO report also recommends changes to the use of terminology associated with diabetes.
The cut off point for the diagnosis of diabetes using a fasting plasma glucose level will be lowered from 7.8mmol/L to 7.0mmol/L.
The criteria for diagnosis will be observation of the symptoms of diabetes (ie, polyuria, polydipsia and unexplained weight loss) along with one of the following: random venous plasma glucose concentration less than 11.1mmol/L, fasting plasma glucose level below 7.0mmol/L or two-hour plasma glucose concentration below 11.1mmol/L two hours after 75mg anhydrous glucose (in an oral glucose tolerance test).
The BDA says that the changes reflect research evidence regarding the development of the complications of diabetes which are now known to begin earlier than was previously thought.
WHO says that insulin-dependent diabetes will be officially renamed type 1 diabetes and non-insulin dependent diabetes renamed type 2 diabetes.
The report can be found on the British Diabetic Association's website (www.diabetes.org.uk/bda.htm) under the health care professional section.
We referred to an oral glucose tolerance test as being 75mg of anhydrous glucose. This should have read 75g of anhydrous glucose.