An Emerging Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosis Modality: HbA1c

which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Classically, the diagnosis of diabetes has been made using the fasting plasma glucose, random plasma glucose, or a 2-hr 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. There are many problems with the definition of diabetes based on blood glucose levels, such as the high intra-individual biological variability, variability in the collection and storage methods , and difficulty in ensuring a fasting state before measuring the blood glucose [1]. Recently, the hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c) assay has also been recommended for the diagnosis of diabetes. The HbA 1c concentration is a good indicator of glycemic control over the previous 8-12 weeks; the time period is dictated by the 120-day lifespan of erythrocytes. HbA 1c is used as the standard biomarker for the adequacy of glycemic management since it correlates well with both microvascular and, to a lesser extent, macrovascular complications based on a large epidemiological study [2,3]. In the past, expert committees have rejected the proposed use of HbA 1c for the diagnosis of diabetes mainly because of the lack of assay standardization. However, HbA 1c assays are now highly standardized, and an international expert committee recommended the use of the HbA 1c test to diagnose diabetes,