Differences in Rates of Glycation (Glycation Index) May Significantly Affect Individual Hba1c Results in Type 1 Diabetes

• Published in: Annals of clinical biochemistry 1999-07, Vol.36 (4), p.451-459
• Main Authors: Hudson, Peter R, Child, David F, Jones, Heather, Williams, Clive P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - blood; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Female; Glycated Hemoglobin A - metabolism; Humans; Male; Management. Various non-drug treatments. Langerhans islet grafts; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Reproducibility of Results
• ISSN: 0004-5632; 1758-1001
• DOI: 10.1177/000456329903600408

Ten type 1 diabetic patients recorded their daily home blood glucose values, pre- and post-prandially, for 12 weeks. Blood was collected weekly for HbA1c and total haemoglobin measurement. A rolling 28-day mean of all blood glucose values and a glycation index (the ratio of the HbA1c to the rolling mean blood glucose) were calculated. In the pooled patients' data, there was a large scatter of results about the HbA1c versus mean blood glucose regression line. There was less variation in the results of individual patients. The glycation indices showed marked inter-individual variation, and in 60% of patients there was an inverse relationship between glycation index and mean blood glucose, suggesting a non-linear relationship between mean blood glucose and HbA1c. Patients should be monitored on the basis of their own previous results, and in some patients blood HbA1c may be a less sensitive index of mean blood glucose concentration at higher glucose levels.