The difference between glucose tolerance and glucose screening

What is the difference between glucose tolerance and glucose screening? We often hear the terms glucose tolerance and glucose screening, but we don’t know what glucose tolerance and glucose screening are, what is the connection between glucose tolerance and glucose screening, and what is the difference between them. If we want to understand the difference between glucose tolerance and glucose screening, we must start with the concepts of glucose tolerance and glucose screening respectively.

Glucose tolerance and glucose screening are two very important tests that pregnant women need to do during pregnancy, so we must learn how to distinguish between glucose tolerance and glucose screening, otherwise if we confuse them, it will bring unnecessary trouble.

1. The difference between glucose screening and glucose tolerance

The sugar screening is to draw blood once on an empty stomach, then drink 50g of glucose and draw blood again one hour later.

For the glucose tolerance test, blood is drawn once on an empty stomach, and then 75g of sugar is consumed, and blood is drawn again one, two, and three hours later.

2. Under what circumstances should glucose screening and glucose tolerance be performed?

The following 5 situations require sugar screening: pregnant women are over 35 years old, overweight or obese, and suffer from high blood pressure; there is a family history of diabetes, especially parents and siblings have a history of diabetes; pregnant women have given birth to macrosomia; those who have had a high blood sugar test or positive diabetes before or in early pregnancy; pregnant women with a history of fetal growth retardation.

As for glucose tolerance, generally if the glucose screening result is a blood sugar value ≥7.8mmol, the glucose screening is abnormal and further glucose tolerance test is required.

3. Precautions before doing glucose screening and glucose tolerance

A few days before doing the sugar screening and glucose tolerance test, you should start eating a light diet and eat less sweets. You cannot eat after 8 pm the night before the glucose screening, and for the glucose tolerance test, you cannot eat after 6 pm the night before. When doing glucose screening and glucose tolerance tests, it is best to walk around after drinking glucose. Generally, for glucose screening and glucose tolerance tests, you must wait an hour before having your blood drawn for the test so that the results can be accurate.

Above we introduced what glucose tolerance is and what glucose screening is. We know that glucose tolerance and glucose screening are two important examinations for pregnant women during pregnancy. We have introduced the difference between glucose tolerance and glucose screening in detail in the above article. The article lists three differences between glucose tolerance and glucose screening, which I believe will be useful to everyone.