As people age, it is common to experience elevated glucose and insulin levels when evaluated through an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). This test measures how well the body responds to glucose. Glucose and insulin levels in older adults tend to be higher than in younger people, indicating that the body is not efficiently using glucose for energy. This creates a cycle of high glucose values and increased insulin production.Blood glucose targets for adults remain the same regardless of age, but age is a major risk factor for diabetes.
Knowing your blood glucose level is essential to understanding your risk of type 2 diabetes. High blood glucose increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and changes may have already occurred in the vascular epithelium that cannot be reversed by reducing blood glucose at the time of diagnosis. This usually leads to increased blood glucose levels, which further increases the risk of developing heart disease and stroke.Studies have shown that fasting blood glucose levels tend to be slightly higher in older adults, with greater increases seen in OGTT results at two o'clock. As insulin resistance progresses, it can lead to metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid levels, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
For this reason, older adults, especially those with health problems, have slightly higher target values for blood glucose to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia.Making lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney disease, obesity, and many other diseases associated with poor blood glucose control. The heart must work harder to overcome the increased resistance caused by narrowed and scarred blood vessels. During fasting, glucose utilization mainly occurs in NIMGU tissues such as the brain (50%), splank organs (20%), skeletal muscle (15%), adipose tissue (5%), blood cells (5%) and other tissues (5%). Self-monitoring of blood glucose may be recommended based on the patient's cognitive ability, functional status, and risk of hypoglycemia.It is easy to mistake menopause symptoms for signs of high or low blood sugar.
As long as β cells are able to produce enough insulin to overcome insulin resistance, i.e., continue to move the glucose and insulin secretion curve to the right, the absolute concentration of glucose in circulating blood remains within a narrow normal range. If you cannot get your blood sugar levels where they should be, your doctor may suggest hormone replacement therapy (HRT). During an oral glucose test, a medical professional will take a blood sample to check fasting glucose levels.Knowing which lifestyle factors influence blood sugar levels and how to mitigate spikes can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and its associated diseases. Insulin resistance occurs when the pancreas needs to produce more insulin to regulate blood sugar because the body's cells have become resistant to its effects.
If you have diabetes, you know that many things can affect your blood sugar level from eating too much or too little food to stress.
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