Tests to diagnose diabetes complications

The table below summarizes the tests that can be performed to identify complications from diabetes, including those done in a physical exam. These tests range from taking your blood pressure to drawing blood for cholesterol or kidney function testing.

**Complications from diabetes and the tests used to detect them**
Organ or disease	Test	What it shows	Target level
High cholesterol	LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglyceride tests (done after you have not eaten for 9 to 12 hours)	Level of LDL ("bad") cholesterol in your blood Level of HDL ("good") cholesterol in your blood Level of triglycerides in your blood	LDL less than 100 mg/dL or aim for keeping it at 70 mg/dL Triglycerides less than 150 mg/dL HDL more than 40 mg/dL in men and more than 50 mg/dL in women
High blood pressure	Blood pressure	Pressure of blood flow in your arteries	Less than 130 mm Hg systolic (top number) and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic (bottom number)
Kidneys	Macroalbuminuria (large amounts of protein in urine) Microalbuminuria (small amounts of protein in urine)	Kidney disease present Subclinical (developing) kidney disease	Negative macroalbuminuria (less than 300 mg of protein in 24 hours) Negative microalbuminuria (less than 30 mg of protein)
Eyes	Retinal exam	Whether retinopathy (damage to back of the eye) has developed	No retinal damage
Feet	Foot exam	Whether foot ulcers have developed and whether the person has lost any sensation	No foot ulcers or loss of sensation

Credits

Author	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Michele Cronen
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism
Last Updated	August 9, 2007