A Potential Issue with Screening Prediabetes or Diabetes Using Serum Glucose: A Delay in Diagnosis

The aim of this study was to compare the fasting serum glucose level with the fasting plasma glucose level for diagnosing hyperglycemic states in real-life clinical situations. Additionally, we investigated a usual delay in sample processing and how such delays can impact the diagnosis of hyperglycemic states. Among 1,254 participants who had normoglycemia or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) assessed by the fasting serum glucose level, 20.9% were newly diagnosed with diabetes based on the plasma fasting glucose level. Of the participants with normoglycemia, 62.1% and 14.2% were newly diagnosed with IFG and diabetes, respectively, according to the plasma fasting glucose level. In our clinical laboratory for performing health examinations, the time delay from blood sampling to glycemic testing averaged 78±52 minutes. These findings show that the ordinary time delay for sample processing of the serum glucose for screening hyperglycemic states may be an important reason for these diagnoses to be underestimated in Korea.