Total glycohemoglobin or hemoglobin A1C?

Association of A1C and fasting plasma glucose levels with diabetic retinopathy prevalence in the U.S. population: Implications for diabetes diagnostic thresholds

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of A1C levels and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) with diabetic retinopathy in the U.S. population and to compare the ability of the two glycemic measures to discriminate between people with and without retinopathy.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This study included 1,066 individuals aged >or=40 years from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A1C, FPG, and 45 degrees color digital retinal images were assessed. Retinopathy was defined as a level >or=14 on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study severity scale. We used joinpoint regression to identify linear inflections of prevalence of retinopathy in the association between A1C and FPG.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of retinopathy was 11%, which is appreciably lower than the prevalence in people with diagnosed diabetes (36%). There was a sharp increase in retinopathy prevalence in those with A1C >or=5.5% or FPG >or=5.8 mmol/l. After excluding 144 people using hypoglycemic medication, the change points for the greatest increase in retinopathy prevalence were A1C 5.5% and FPG 7.0 mmol/l. The coefficients of variation were 15.6 for A1C and 28.8 for FPG. Based on the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves, A1C was a stronger discriminator of retinopathy (0.71 [95% CI 0.66-0.76]) than FPG (0.65 [0.60 - 0.70], P for difference = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

The steepest increase in retinopathy prevalence occurs among individuals with A1C >or=5.5% and FPG >or=5.8 mmol/l. A1C discriminates prevalence of retinopathy better than FPG.

Frequency of HbA1c discordance in estimating blood glucose control

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

HbA1c is a trusted standard for monitoring glycemic control and predicting complications. However, there are emerging issues complicating the interpretation of HbA1c that the clinician caring for patients with diabetes needs to consider.

RECENT FINDINGS

There is increasing evidence of the potential for mismatches between HbA1c and other measures of glycemia which require some caution in HbA1c interpretation. We have attempted to characterize the nature of these discordances by developing the concept of the 'glycation gap' in which differences in protein glycation occurring in the intracellular space (HbA1c) versus in the extracellular space (measured as fructosamine) are compared. We have evidence that HbA1c results discordant from other measures of glycemic control may be secondary to previously unappreciated physiological variables, including erythrocyte lifespan, in hematologically normal individuals. We relate these findings to a number of HbA1c interpretation issues important for diabetes care: factors affecting hemoglobin glycation, relationship of HbA1c to glycemia, standardization of the HbA1c assay, and HbA1c relation to complications.

SUMMARY

There are an increasing number of clinical circumstances in which there are nuances to HbA1c interpretation such that standard norms for assessment of glycemic control or complication risk may need to be modified.