Hyperglycemia

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Hyperglycemia, hyperglycaemia, or high blood sugar is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood glucose level of 10+ mmol/L (180 mg/dl), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until later numbers like 15-20+ mmol/L (270-360 mg/dl). However, chronic levels exceeding 125 mg/dl can produce organ damage.

The origin of the term is Greek: hyper-, meaning excessive; -glyc-, meaning sweet; and -emia, meaning “of the blood”.

Chronic hyperglycemia that persists even in fasting states is most commonly caused by diabetes mellitus, and in fact chronic hyperglycemia is the defining characteristic of the disease. Mild chronic hyperglycemia is present in prediabetes. Acute episodes of hyperglycemia without an obvious cause may indicate developing diabetes or a predisposition to the disorder. This form of hyperglycemia is caused by low insulin levels. These low insulin levels inhibit the transport of glucose across cell membranes therefore causing high blood glucose levels.

Certain eating disorders can produce acute non-diabetic hyperglycemia, as in the binge phase of bulimia nervosa, when the subject consumes a large amount of calories at once, frequently from foods that are high in simple and complex carbohydrates.

Certain medications increase the risk of hyperglycemia, including beta blockers, thiazide diuretics, corticosteroids, niacin, pentamidine, protease inhibitors, L-asparaginase,[1] and some antipsychotic agents.[2]

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