Effect of antiresorptive therapy on day-to-day variation of urinary free deoxypyridinoline excretion.

decrease the risk of complications. Accordingly, the revised cutoff for FPG was established on the basis of the risk for the development of complications of diabetes. Analysis of several studies revealed that the approximate thresholds for increased risk of retinopathy and microvascular and macrovascular disease were 6.9 mmol/L (125 mg/dL) and 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) for fasting and 2-h postload glucose concentrations, respectively (1). Thus, FPG and the OGTT have approximately equal predictive value for the most pertinent and practical clinical outcome of diabetes, namely the development of long-term complications. Since it is less complex, less expensive, more reproducible, more readily obtained, and more acceptable to patients than the OGTT, the FPG should be the primary strategy for the assessment of glycemia. Notwithstanding this recommendation, measurement of blood glucose concentrations is an imperfect method for identifying individuals with diabetes mellitus (4). Blood glucose concentrations are a continuum, and there is no absolute threshold for the development of complications, necessitating a somewhat arbitrary choice of cutoff. The advent of molecular and immunological assays that are capable of accurately diagnosing diabetes is eagerly awaited.