title: The threshold for diagnosing impaired fasting glucose: a position statement by the European Diabetes Epidemiology Group.
abstract: The category of IFG was introduced in the late 1990s to denote a state of non-diabetic hyperglycaemia defined by a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration between 6.1 and 6.9 mmol/l. In 2003 the American Diabetes Association recommended that this diagnostic threshold be lowered to 5.6 mmol/l. The justification for lowering the threshold has been questioned. This simple change in cut-off value creates a pandemic of IFG, with a two- to five-fold increase in the prevalence of IFG across the world. Such a change in threshold has far-reaching public health implications. The European Diabetes Epidemiology Group (EDEG) has reviewed the evidence for this lower cut-off point for the definition of IFG and concludes that the previous definition should not be altered. EDEG further recommends that the value of all categorical definitions of non-diabetic hyperglycaemia should be reconsidered.
authors.affiliation: MRC Epidemiology Unit, Elsie Widdowson Laboratories, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Forouhi
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Balkau
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Borch-Johnsen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dekker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Glumer
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spijkerman
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stolk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tabac
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Wareham
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000517:prevention & control; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000517:prevention & control; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005215:Fasting; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose