How important is antibody testing for someone with diabetes?

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How important is antibody testing for someone with diabetes?

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Michael Dansinger, MD

Nutrition

Tufts Medical Center

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I believe antibody testing for type 1 diabetes is useful in patients for whom it is not obvious whether it is type 1 or type 2. It is worth testing insulin levels first to see if that clarifies the picture.

High glucose levels in young obese patients or in lean adults are often hard to confidently classify without insulin levels or antibody tests.

Prognosis and treatment, including the potential improvement with lifestyle change, depend on whether it is type 1 or type 2, in large part because the relative contributions of insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction are important to understand and treat appropriately.

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