A1c test misses many cases of diabetes

[Northerner]

Using the hemoglobin A1c blood test to diagnose diabetes tends to underestimate the prevalence of the disease, according to a new study to be presented Saturday, March 23 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

"Based on our findings, A1c should not be solely used to determine the prevalence of diabetes," said lead researcher Maria Mercedes Chang Villacreses, M.D., of City of Hope's Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute in Duarte, Calif. "It should be used in conjunction with the oral glucose test for increased accuracy."

The hemoglobin A1c is a test that shows the average level of blood sugar over the past two to three months. People who have diabetes usually have this test to see whether their blood sugar levels have been staying within a target range. This test is also used to diagnose type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is often used to diagnose diabetes because no fasting or any preparation is required.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190323113744.htm

 

[mikeyB]

So much for HbA1c tests, then we can make even more people T2 with GTTs. Nobody really knows what normal is, but let’s find as many ways as possible to make folk abnormal.

Here in the UK, we take a normal HbA1c as a safe indicator of normality. No need to change that, it works just fine.