Diagnostic Testing for Diabetes Using HbA1c in the Abu Dhabi Population

OBJECTIVE The validity of HbA(1c) as a population diagnostic tool was tested against oral glucose tolerance testing in Abu Dhabi nationals. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The screening tool of HbA(1c) and random glucose was validated against the "gold standard" oral glucose tolerance test according to World Health Organization criteria. RESULTS The HbA(1c) threshold of 6.4% provided the optimum balance between sensitivity (72.0%) and specificity (84.3%) with positive and negative predictive values of 47.9 and 93.7% and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.78. This threshold compares with a threshold of 6.5% recommended by the International Scientific Committee and American Diabetes Association and of 6.3% in a recent study in China. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully validates the feasibility and threshold of HbA(1c) for diagnosis of diabetes at the population level in a Middle-Eastern population. This result is a major step in the fight to tackle the increasing burden of diabetes in the United Arab Emirates.