Translating Hemoglobin A1c into Average Blood Glucose: Implications for Clinical Chemistry

Translating hemoglobin A1c into average blood glucose: implications for clinical chemistry.

Measurement of hemoglobin A1c (Hb A1c) 2 is a fundamental component of the management of patients with diabetes mellitus. Hb A1c measurement provides an indication of chronic exposure to glucose and is extensively used for both monitoring long-term glycemic status and evaluating whether an individual patient has attained adequate metabolic control. The patient’s Hb A1c value is used by clinicia...

Translating the A1C Assay Into Estimated Average Glucose Values

OBJECTIVE The A1C assay, expressed as the percent of hemoglobin that is glycated, measures chronic glycemia and is widely used to judge the adequacy of diabetes treatment and adjust therapy. Day-to-day management is guided by self-monitoring of capillary glucose concentrations (milligrams per deciliter or millimoles per liter). We sought to define the mathematical relationship between A1C and a...

Correlation between hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and average blood glucose: can HbA1c be reported as estimated blood glucose concentration?

Glycation is the nonenzymatic addition of sugar to amino groups of proteins. While virtually any protein in the body can be glycated, for convenience and ease of obtaining a sample, glycated hemoglobin is measured in the blood obtained from a patient. Blood glucose concentrations exhibit wide diurnal fluctuations due to food ingestion, exercise, and other factors. In contrast, the concentration...

Correlation between Standard Clinical Chemistry and Point of Care Testing Analyzers on Hemoglobin A1C Determination

The correlation of hemoglobin A1c to blood glucose.

The understanding that hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) represents the average blood glucose level of patients over the previous 120 days underlies the current management of diabetes. Even in making such a statement, we speak of "average blood glucose" as though "blood glucose" were itself a simple idea. When we consider all the blood glucose forms-arterial versus venous versus capillary, whole blood ver...