What is a glucose tolerance test or GTT?
A glucose tolerance test (GTT) gets designed to assess the response to glucose. GTT detects irregularities in your handling of glucose after a meal. Your doctor will administer a glucose solution and take tests at regular intervals to assess how well the body cells absorb glucose.
The oral glucose tolerance test, or OGTT, is the most common version of the GTT used in various situations. OGTT is primarily used to diagnose gestational diabetes. OGTT will tell you whether you are at risk of developing diabetes or whether you already have it. The patient must fast for eight hours before the OGTT, which involves determining the fasting plasma glucose level and administering an oral glucose solution. Following that, they can take blood samples up to four times at regular intervals to test blood glucose levels. Doctors perform OGTTs in the morning since glucose levels fall by the afternoon.
When you have type 2 diabetes, the body uses insulin inefficiently. Glucose levels in the blood are rising. Excess sugar in your body might harm your blood vessels. Diabetes can lead to heart disease, nerve damage, vision loss, and kidney failure. Further, GTT is a vital examination for diagnosing diabetes and other parameters such as insulin resistance, impaired beta-cell function, carbohydrate metabolism disorder, hypoglycemia.
When to conduct the glucose tolerance test?
When a pregnant one-hour glucose challenge test revealed increased blood glucose levels, doctors performed a GTT test. GTT is mainly to see any irregularities in glucose digestion after meals, especially in type 2 diabetics.
GTT will be conducted by following the steps outlined below.
On the day of the GTT, your doctor will ask you to drink water and may restrict you from eating or drinking the night before.
When you arrive at the clinic, your doctor will take a fasting blood sample.
Your doctor will ask you to drink a glucose solution, then collect blood samples several times over several hours to measure your glucose levels.
What are the risk factors associated with the glucose tolerance test?
There are minor risks associated with GTT. Patients with high blood sugar levels can experience side effects after drinking a glucose solution, including nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, and constipation. The risks of collecting blood samples include swelling and redness at the puncture site, hematoma, fever, dizziness, and infection at the puncture site.
How do you prepare for the oral glucose tolerance test?
You can prepare for an OGTT by eating around 150 grams of carbohydrates per day for three days leading up to the test to get an accurate result. After 10 pm the night before, do not eat or drink anything but water. You are free to eat in the morning. Avoid consuming high-sugar foods such as donuts and orange juice.
When is the oral glucose tolerance test required?
You will need an oral glucose tolerance test if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high triglycerides (fat in your blood), polycystic ovarian syndrome (menstrual difficulties), obesity, or gestational diabetes from a prior pregnancy (OGTT).
What can you expect from the glucose tolerance test?
Under normal conditions, a 75-gram glucose drink increases your blood glucose levels and stimulates the pancreas to release insulin into the blood. As time passes, the blood glucose level should decrease and go back to normal. If your body cannot generate enough insulin, or if the body’s cells are resistant to its effects (insulin resistance), less glucose peregrinates from the blood into cells, and the blood glucose level remains high.
What are the possible results of the glucose tolerance test?
The GTT normal value is less than 140 mg/dL, and a blood glucose level of 140 to 199 mg/dL is a reliable indication of prediabetes. The standard OGTT fasting range for prediabetes is 100–125 mg/dL, 126 mg/dL or greater for diabetes, and over 92 mg/dL for gestational diabetes. After two hours, the OGTT normal range for prediabetes is 140–199 mg/dL, 200 mg/dL or greater for diabetes, and greater than 153 mg/dL for gestational diabetes.
Should you consult a doctor after your GTT?
If your blood glucose levels do not correspond to the standard range, you should consult your doctor to devise a treatment plan to manage diabetes.
What are some simple steps to avoid type 2 diabetes?
We can avoid most forms of type 2 diabetes by maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, and consuming a nutritious diet. You have to stay away from alcohol, smoking, and any tobacco products. Practicing yoga, mediation, and breathing exercises will improve your health and lifestyle. During the chronic diabetes phase, you can regularly go for vitamin C-rich foods such as oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits. Vegetables such as fenugreek can help manage diabetes by improving glucose tolerance, lowering blood sugar levels, and stimulating insulin secretion.
Conclusion
A glucose tolerance test is a medical test that involves the administration of glucose, most commonly orally. Your blood samples are collected later to test how the body handles and metabolizes glucose. Primarily, it uses to diagnose gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes. If your blood glucose levels are higher than the normal range, visit your doctor.
FAQs
1. What does a glucose tolerance test mean?
GTT determines how the body reacts to sugar (glucose). A glucose tolerance test is a screening tool for type 2 diabetes.
2. What is the typical result of a glucose tolerance test?
Blood glucose levels of less than 140 mg/dL are frequent. Impairment of glucose tolerance, or prediabetes, is diagnosed when the blood glucose levels fall between 140 and 199 mg/dL.
3. Is gestational diabetes dangerous?
Gestational diabetes increases the risk of high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a severe pregnancy complication that causes high blood pressure and other symptoms that can affect both the mother and the baby’s lives.
4. What are the chances of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy?
About half of all women who develop gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes later in life. After delivery, you can reduce the risk by maintaining healthy body weight. Visit your doctor 6–12 weeks after your baby is born and again every 1–3 years to ensure your levels are on track.
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