[Some comments on ADA and WHO reports on the new criteria for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus].

The Expert Committee of ADA and a WHO working group reported the new criteria for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in 1997 and 1998, respectively. However, similar conclusions were obtained in those separate reports. The main changes proposed are as follows. The diagnostic fasting plasma glucose value has been lowered to > or = 126 mg/dl. Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) is changed to allow for the new fasting level. A new category of Impaired Fasting Glycaemia (IFG) is proposed to encompass values which are above normal but below the diagnostic cut-off for the diabetes (plasma > or = 110 to < 126 mg/dl). It is hoped that the new criteria for the diagnosis will be useful in the therapeutic judgements of diabetes mellitus.