Diabetes Risk Test Panel

Our Diabetes Risk Panel measures your glucose (blood sugar) levels at the time of testing, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) to determine your average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months, and total cholesterol in your blood.

Glucose

Glucose is the main sugar found in your bloodstream. The sugar mainly comes from the food you eat and supplies energy to all cells in the body. Blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by hormones like insulin, which is produced in the pancreas. Consistently high blood glucose is typically seen in individuals with uncontrolled or undiagnosed diabetes. In people with diabetes, insulin is either less effective or not produced in sufficient quantity, making it harder to manage the amount of sugar passing through the blood. In type 2 diabetes, the cells become resistant to insulin and ignore its message to absorb glucose, a condition known as insulin resistance. Insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes, is strongly associated with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries caused by plaque accumulation in the inner lining of an artery).

Hemoglobin A1c

Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the body's tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs. When sugar enters the bloodstream, it attaches and sticks to hemoglobin molecules to form hemoglobin A1c. The HbA1c test is an important tool used for the screening, diagnosis, and management of diabetes.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance found in the blood that is needed to make cell walls, tissues, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acid. Too much cholesterol in the blood may clog blood vessels, which reduces the flow of blood to the heart, brain, and other organs. This may increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other serious health conditions. Our Total Cholesterol Test shows your total cholesterol number. This helps determine whether your cholesterol is elevated.

People living with diabetes are more likely to have elevated cholesterol, which may contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Diabetes tends to cause lower levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL) and increase levels of triglycerides and "bad" cholesterol (LDL), which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke (diabetic dyslipidemia).

Signs and symptoms of diabetes may be hard to recognize or go unnoticed. You may consider discussing your risk factors for diabetes with your healthcare provider if you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Frequent urination
• Increased thirst
• Excessive hunger
• Extreme fatigue
• Dry mouth
• Dry eyes
• Blurred vision
• Yeast infections
• Unexplained weight loss
• Itchy skin
• Slow-healing cuts, bruises, or sores
• Pain, numbness, or tingling in the hands, feet, or legs
• Nausea and vomiting
• Extremely dry skin
• Frequent infections
• Darkening and thickening of the skin on the neck, elbows, underarms, knuckles, groin, or knees

You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase a test on questhealth.com. This test requires specimen collection at a Quest Diagnostics location or through Quest Mobile™, a convenient option for in-home sample collection*. Collection not available in AK, AZ, or HI.

*Check your zip code here for service availability, not available in all locations.