Abstract
Whether hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values are suitable for diagnosing diabetes has been debated. We sought to assess the prevalence of elevated HbA1c levels in a prediabetes patient population. Oral glucose tolerance tests and HbA1c levels were analyzed for patients entering a diabetes prevention program between January 1, 2007, and September 13, 2009. We calculated the percentage of patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) who had HbA1c values in the 6.0% to 6.4% range or in the 5.7% to 6.4% range. The mean age of the 242 patients was 62 years; 64.0% were women, and 88.0% were white. Isolated IFG was detected in about 56.2% of patients and combined IFG and IGT in about 37.2%. Only 28.5% of patients had HbA1c values in the 6.0% to 6.4% range, whereas 65.3% had values in the 5.7% to 6.4% range. Our data suggest that reliance on HbA1c testing alone to identify candidates for a diabetes prevention program would miss a substantial number of eligible patients.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 674-677 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | American journal of clinical pathology |
Volume | 135 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2011 |
Keywords
- Hemoglobin A
- Impaired fasting glucose
- Impaired glucose tolerance
- Prediabetes
- Screening
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine