Can Triglycerides Test Be Done When Not On Fasting?

Posted on Mon, 22 Dec 2014

Question: Hi Doctor,

I want to get my Triglycerides checked but dont want to go fasting. Can I get non fasting triglycerides done or will the values be different?

Answered by Dr. Divakara (12 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Get 6 hour fasting test.

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Greetings from Dr.Divakara.P
Thanks for posting your query.

I would recommend you do fasting only for two reasons.

1. Following ingestion of food it is the triglycerides that rise fast , the other cholesterol doesn't change much.

2. The reference values for cholesterol are for fasting condition. No reference values established for non fasting condition.

3. Also at present the guidelines tell to do testing in fasting condition only. Though there is a debate arguing that non fasting values predict the risk much better than fasting, still testing for triglycerides or other cholesterol in non fasting condition has not yet been recommended.

If a 12 hour fasting is really impossible then do a 6 hour fasting and get the test done. There will not be much difference in the values.

Hope this information was useful to you.

Any clarification feel free to ask.

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar