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Glossary

Glossary of terms commonly used on diabetes websites and discussion groups

Most of the terms here refer to the British healthcare system.

512, 712, 508, 507c, 507, 506, 505: The Paradigm 512 and 712 are MiniMed's latest pumps for sale in the UK. The 712 holds more insulin than the 512.
A: Actrapid. A clear soluble insulin made by Novo-Nordisk.
A1c: Haemoglobin A1c. (Also called Glycosylated haemoglobin test). A test which measures your average blood glucose control over the preceding several months. This test is generally given at 3 month intervals. The Americans spell haemoglobin hemoglobin - without the "a".
ACE inhibitor: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor. Slows down the progression of diabetic kidney disease. It is also used to lower blood pressure.
ACR: Albumin to Creatine Ratio
ADA: American Diabetes Association. Also Americans with Disibilities Act.
ADTC: Area Drug and Therapeutics Committee. Scotland has a seperate legal system from England and Wales. This committee helps advise about all new drugs.
AFC: Agenda for Change
AGE: Advanced Glycation Endproduct
A&E: Accident and Emergency. In the US this is the Emergency Room.
Animas: US maker of insulin pumps. June 2005 their latest model was the IR1250.
Appt: Shorthand for appointment.
Aventis: A European insulin and pharmaceutical product manufacturer. Previously called Hoechst. Aventis make Lantus (a brand name for glargine) - a particularly flat long acting insulin.
Basal: Your body nearly always need a small amount of insulin to hold everything steady, even if you've not eaten food. On injections this is usually provided by the long-acting insulin. A pump gives you a small amount all the time, called the basal rate. You need to find out your own correct basal rate. See also bolus.
BDA: British Diabetic Association (now called Diabetes UK)
Beta-cells: Cells in the pancreas which, in someone without diabetes, produce insulin.
β-OHB: Beta-Hydroxybutyrate. Full technical name for the ketones that collect in the blood. A small quantity is normal: 0·1 - 1·0 mmol/L is OK. 1·1 to 3·0 mmol/L is too high. You should take fast acting insulin to bring down your BG level. Above 3·0 is dangerously high. Take insulin and see a doctor immediately. While your BG remains high, drink a glass of water every 15 minutes. Your body needs this.
BG: Blood Glucose. Some clinics (and meters) measure plasma glucose. To convert, multiply blood glucose by 1.12 to get plasma glucose.
BMI: Body Mass Index. Literally, how fat you are for your height. Weight in kilograms is divided by height in meters. So if I'm 90 kg and 1.75 m tall, my BMI (reaches for calculator...) is 90/1.75= about 51. Could do better!
BM: Blood glucose. Literally it stands for Boehringer Mannheim, a German pharmaceutical company (now called Roche). BM-Test is a blood glucose testing strip they make.
Bolus: Literally a "lump" of insulin. Insulin you give yourself in one go, for a reason - usually because you are about to eat carbohydrate, or because you want to lower your blood glucose level. The latest pumps can give this insulin quickly, or spread out over a time. You need to find out for yourself how much insulin you need for different foods, and how much 1 unit will lower your blood glucose level. See also basal.
BP: Blood pressure. Normally 2 numbers - eg 140/90. As the heart beats the pressure of the blood goes up and down. The first number is the highest pressure, the second number the lowest pressure. Recorded usually as millimetres of mercury, or mmHg.
BSL: Blood sugar level. Equivalent of blood glucose level, or BG.
BTW: By the way...
Cardiovascular disease: Damage to the heart.
Cataracts: The glassy coating of the outer eye clouding over. Cataracts are twice as common in people with diabetes - and occur 10 years earlier.
CCR: Creatinine Clearance Rate
CDA: Canadian Diabetes Association
CDE: Certified Diabetes Educator. US equivalent of the Diabetes Specialist Nurse.
CGMS: Continuous Glucose Monitoring System - a system for recording your glucose level continuously. Launched by MiniMed in 2000.
CGWT: Care Group Workforce Team
CHAI: Commission for Healthcare Audit and Improvement. UK government group.
CHI: Commission for Health Inspection
CHO or Carb: Carbohydrates. CHO is its chemical name, since it is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
CI: Confidence interval
CNS: Central Nervous System
Contact: An infusion set sold by MiniMed. It has a fine steel needle for easy insertion.
Correction bolus: If your blood glucose level is high, you can take insulin to bring it down to a normal level. You need to know how sensitive you are to insulin, and how much to take. This is called a correction bolus. See also Insulin on Board.
Cozmo: Maker of insulin pumps.
CP: CP Pharmaceuticals. An insulin manufacturer based in Wrexham, Wales.
CREST: Clinical Resource Efficiency Support Team
CSBS: Clinical Standards Board for Scotland
CSII: Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion. The full medical name for insulin pump therapy.
CWP: Changing Workforce Programme
D: Disetronic. Manufacturer of insulin pumps.
DAFNE: Dosage adjustment for normal eating. A new concept of insulin adjustment available in the UK.
DCCT: Diabetes Control and Complication Trial. A 10-year US study, published in the early 1990s, that established a statistical link that poorly controlled diabetes causes complications. Seems obvious, but the evidence was always second-hand.
DCIP: Diabetes Collaborative Improvement Programme
DDA: Disability Discrimination Act
DESMOND: Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed. An English and Welsh national education programme for people with Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes UK: The principal diabetes organisation in the UK. Previously called the British Diabetic Association or BDA.
Disetronic: A Swiss-based company that makes medical devices, including insulin pumps. Was bought by Roche in 2002. Now uses the brand name Accu-Chek.
DKA: Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Ketosis is the presence of ketones in the blood. In diabetes, this can progress to the complex and serious condition of DKA. If untreated, this leads to coma and death. See our article on Beta-Hydroxybutyrate for treating high ketones in the blood.
DLA: Disabled Living Allowance. Some people in Britain are allowed to claim some extra money to help with the cost of running their diabetes. It is noted that often the initial claim is rejected, or a lower allowance given, which is then raised if you complain. Food for thought there...
DM: Diabetes Mellitus
DMer: A person with diabetes
DNS: Diabetes Nurse Specialist. Another name for the Diabetes Specialist Nurse.
DOD: Date of diagnosis
DoH: The UK Department of Health.
DRC: Disability Rights Commission. Their website is www.drc-gb.org
D-TRON: Insulin pump sold by Disetronic. See also Spirit.
DSN: Diabetes Specialist Nurse. This is the UK's equivalent of the US Certified Diabetes Educator.
DHSSPS: Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
DX: Diagnosis
DXed: Diagnosed
Eli Lilly: A major US drug manufacturer. Makes a wide range of insulins including Humalog.
Endo: Endocrinologist. A diabetes specialist or consultant.
ER: Emergency Room. The American name for what in the UK is called A&E, or Accident and Emergency.
ESRD: End Stage Renal Disease
FBS: Fasting Blood Sugar. Your blood sugar first thing in the morning, before you have eaten anything.
FDA: Food and Drug Administration. An American government department that regulates the use of pharmaceutical products in America.
FWIW: For what it's worth
GADA: Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase. A common anti-islet antibody. See also IA2
GAR: Glucose Absorption Rate
Gestational diabetes: Any degree of impaired glucose regulation which is first recognised during pregnancy. After the birth the problems often disappear. But if they continue it will be classified as either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
GDG: Guideline Development Group
GI: Glycaemic Index. A measure of how rapidly the carbohydrate in a particular food actually hits your blood stream. The Americans spell glycaemic glycemic - without the "a".
GP: General Practitioner. Your "general" doctor, not a specialist. In the UK, many people have their diabetes overseen by their GP.
GPP: Good practice point
GPwSI: GP with Special Interests
GRP: Guideline Review Panel
HbA1c, HA1c, HgA1c: Glycosylated haemoglobin, or haemoglobin A1c. Also abbreviated to A1c. See A1c above.
H: Humalog. A rapid acting insulin made by Eli Lilly. Also known as lispro (or lyspro).
HMO: Health Maintenance Organization. A type of US health insurer that focuses on maintaining your health, rather than curing diseases.
HTH: Internet-shorthand for Hope That Helps.
H-TRON: An earlier insulin pump sold by Disetronic. Some people prefer the H-TRON to Disetronic's more recent model, the D-TRON.
HONK: Hyperosmolar non-ketotic syndrome. A coma caused by a very high blood sugar without ketones. Mainly occurs in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Hypo: Hypoglycaemia, hypoglycaemic. Low blood sugar
Hyper: Hyperglycaemia, hyperglycaemic. High blood sugar
I: Insulatard. A cloudy medium acting insulin made by Novo-Nordisk.
IA2: A tyrosine phosphatase-like protein. See also GADA.
ICAS: Independent Complaints Advocacy Service
IDDM: Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. Now usually called Type 1 diabetes.
IDDT: Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust. A group established to support the demand for animal insulins.
IFG: Impaired Fasting Glycaemia.
IGT: Impaired Glucose Tolerance.
IM: Intramuscular Injection. An injection into a muscle. Intramuscular injections hurt, but are absorbed faster. Particularly good for glucagon injections when treating a bad hypo.
IM&T: Information Management and Technology
IMHO: In my humble (or honest) opinion
INPUT: INsulin PUmp Therapy. A UK group providing information about pump therapy. Run by John Davis <input@care4free.net>
IoB: Insulin On Board. Insulin doesn't work immediately. There is usually a delay while it's absorbed. It goes slowly through your fat and into your blood. Some pumps will guess for you how much insulin you have already taken, but which has not yet worked. This helps get a more accurate correction bolus. See also correction bolus.
IQ: Intelligence Quotient
ISPAD: International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes
IV: Intravenous Injection. The fastest route into the blood stream.
JDF: Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Now called the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
JDRF: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - new name for Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
KSF: Knowledge and Skills Framework
L: Lente. A cloudy insulin that lasts slightly longer than NPH. Also known as Monotard in the UK.
LADA: Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults
NCB: National Children’s Bureau
LDSAG: Local Diabetes Services Advisory Group
LHA: Local Health Authority.
LHB: Local Health Board
LHSCG: Local Health and Social Care Group
LIT: Local Implementation Team
LOL: Laughing out loud
LTCCGWT: Long-Term Conditions Care Group Workforce Team
LSHTM: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
M or MM: MiniMed. Manufacturer of insulin pumps. MiniMed was taken over by Medtronic in 2002.
MCN: Managed Clinical Network
MDI: Multiple Daily Injections. Three or more injections of insulin through the course of the day.
MDN: Managed Diabetes Network
Medtronic: A US-based company that bought MiniMed in July 2001.
mg/dL: Milligrams per decilitre. A common unit for measuring blood glucose levels. See also mmol/L
MiniMed: A US-based company that makes medical devices, including insulin pumps. MiniMed was bought by Medtronic in July 2001.
mmol/L: Millimoles per litre. A common unit for measuring blood glucose levels. See also mg/dL
MODY: Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young. Similar to Type 2 diabetes, but affecting young people. Doctors are worried as this is becoming more common and they don't understand why.
Myocardial infarction: Posh name for a heart attack.
NCASP: National Clinical Audit Support Programme
NCC-WCH: National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health
NDST: National Diabetes Support Team
NHGB: Net Hepatic Glucose Balance. Calculated as the sum of gluconeogenesis, glycogen breakdown and glycogen synthesis derived from experimental data published in literature.
Nephropathy: Kidney disease.
Neuropathy: Damage to the nerves.
NHS: National Health Service. Healthcare in the UK is delivered free at the point of care. The NHS was set up in 1948.
NLD: Necrobiosis Lipoidica Diabeticorum. Death of the fat cells in the skin of people with diabetes. Comes up in red blotches often lower leg. No real cure, but the use of cosmetics can disguise the problem.
NICE: National Institute for Clinical Excellence. A UK government body set up to examine new clinical methods.
NICE TA: Technology Appraisal published by NICE
Novo-Nordisk: A leading manufacturer of insulin and other pharmaceutical products in Europe.
NPSA: National Patient Safety Agency
NPCC: National Primary Care Collaborative
NPCDT: National Primary Care Development Team
NSF: National Service Framework. In Dec 2001 the National Service Framework for Diabetes: Standards was published by the UK Department of Health suggesting modern standards for diabetes care. A further document Delivery Strategy is expected to follow.
N or NPH: Neutral Protamine Hagedorn. A cloudy medium-acting insulin. Also known as Insulatard or Humulin I in the UK.
NNT: Number needed to treat
OGTT: Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
OR: Odds ratio
Oreos: "America's Favorite Cookie". A serving of three cookies contains 23 g of CHO. You can "Bite them, twist them, lick them". Also available in "Double Stuffed" and "Low Fat".
OTOH: On the other hand...
PAF: Performance Assessment Framework
PALS: Patient Advice and Liaison Services
PASA: NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency
Paradigm: MiniMed's current pump brand in the UK.
PCP: Primary Care Physician (or provider). Your "main doc". May also refer to Preferred Care Provider, if talking about US insurance coverage.
PCT: Primary Care Trust. The local level of the UK's health system.
PGU: Peripheral Glucose Utilization. Represents the grouped uptake of glucose by the CNS, RBC, muscles and adipose tissue.
POM: What an Australian calls an Englishman. No - sorry ;-) Prescription Only Medicine
Postprandial: After a meal. Several hours after eating is when your BG is normally at its higest. See also preprandial.
Preprandial: Just before you eat. This is often the point when your BG is lowest, and at its stablest. See also postprandial.
PVD: Peripheral Vascular Disease. Reduced blood supply to the feet.
POOF: Plenty Of Oral Fluids
Postural hypotension: Feeling faint when standing up quickly.
QALY: Quality-Adjusted Life Year
Quick-Set: An infusion set sold by MiniMed. It has a soft plastic tube that goes straight into the skin. It is said to stick better than MiniMed's SofSet.
QIS: Quality Improvement Scotland
QUIDS: Quality Indicators in Diabetes Services
R: Regular insulin. The common name for the clear soluble insulin. Not to be confused with Humalog, which is not a regular insulin, but a rapid insulin.
Rapid: An infusion set sold by Disetronic. It has a fine steel needle for easy insertion.
RBC: Red Blood Cell
RCT: Randomised controlled (clinical) trial
Retinopathy: Damage to the small blood vessels on the eye's retina, believed to be caused by high BG levels.
Roche: A large healthcare firm that owns Disetronic. The name Disetronic is being replaced by Accu-Chek.
ROFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing
RR: Relative risk (or risk ratio)
RTG: Renal Threshold of Glucose
Rx: Shorthand for prescription or treatment.
SCIDC: Scottish Care Information Diabetes Collaboration
SD: Standard Deviation
SE: Standard Error
SDS: Scottish Diabetes Survey
SHA: Strategic Health Authority
SIGN: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network
Silhouette: An infusion set sold by MiniMed. It has a soft plastic tube that goes in at about 45 degrees. Similar to Disetronic's Tender.
SMC: Scottish Medicines Consortium
SO: Significant Other. Spouse or life partner
SofSet: An infusion set sold by MiniMed. It has a soft plastic tube that goes straight into the skin.
Spirit: Insulin pump sold by Disetronic.
St Vincent Declaration: An international declaration calling for progress in the treatment of diabetes.
SubQ: Subcutaneous (tissue)
T1: Type 1 diabetes. The correct name for what has previously been called insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), or juvenile onset diabetes.
T2: Type 2 diabetes. The correct name for what has previously been called non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), or mature onset diabetes.
TEDDY: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young. A US project to investigate the environmental triggers of Type 1 diabetes which turn the body’s immune system on the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.
Tender: An infusion set sold by Disetronic. It has a soft plastic tube that goes in at about 45 degrees. Similar to MiniMed's Silhouette. Now under the brand name Accu-Chek TenderLink.
U: Ultralente or Ultratard. A cloudy, very long acting insulin.
UKPDS: United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study. This research has provided conclusive evidence that the life threatening complications of Type 2 diabetes can be significantly reduced by appropriate treatment.
UPCI: Unique Patient Client Indentifier
V: Velosulin. A soluble regular insulin that has had chemicals added to prevent insulin crystals forming.
Vanilla day: Nothing directly to do with vanilla ice-cream! This refers to a plain day, with nothing extreme happening (like hypos, exercise or big meals etc), which is a good time to check various aspects of diabetes control. Used a lot by American people...
VBG: Very Big Grin. May also appear as <VBG>
WHO: World Health Organisation.
WMD: Weighted Mean Difference.
YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary. Remember that you may react differently to a particular health care regimen than your neighbour does. Keep your needs and experience in mind when viewing advice on line. Taken from 1970s US car adverts.

Anything missing? Wrong? Anything you'd like added to this page?

Author: John Neale <jneale@webshowcase.net>. John Neale is not a medical professional. He has Type 1 diabetes and uses an insulin pump. The information given here is based on his own personal experience. More about John Neale...

Based on a document by Bob Burnett <bburnett@twcny.rr.com>

Created: Nov 1999; Last updated: Monday 24 July 2006

Reader comments

On 5 Feb 2006 Mags Eatock wrote:

Really helpful in my search for any information on diabetes. Thanks for that. Am I really thje first to comment???