A diabetic patient can be diagnosed through which test?

The diagnosis of diabetes is typically made based on specific criteria established by health organizations, including the American Diabetes Association. Among these criteria, a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) value of 200 mg/dL or higher is recognized as a definitive indicator of diabetes. This test measures the blood glucose level two hours after ingesting a glucose-rich drink, and a result at this threshold suggests that the body is not effectively processing glucose, consistent with diabetes.

Utilizing the OGTT is particularly valuable because it assesses how the body responds to glucose in real time, which can help in diagnosing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This makes it a critical test in identifying diabetes that might not be evident through fasting glucose measures alone or casual glucose tests.

While the other options present potentially concerning glucose levels, they do not meet all the specific criteria required for a diabetes diagnosis. For instance, fasting plasma glucose criteria have a threshold typically set at ≥ 126 mg/dL for diabetes, while an A1c level of 6.0% is on the lower end of the spectrum and not diagnostic; the threshold for diabetes is set at 6.5% or higher. A random glucose level is also not solely diagnostic unless it's significantly