Terminology

[indio02]

My recent diagnosis confirmation showed a figure of "80" whereas my first blood test was shown as "9.4"

Why the two different numbers and is there an accepted/standard way to express these figures. Also how do you convert between the two?
Thanks.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

My recent diagnosis confirmation showed a figure of "80" whereas my first blood test was shown as "9.4"

80 is HbA1c, so a different measure.

What is HbA1c?

HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%) or below. If you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, your target HbA1c level should be below 42mmol/mol (6%).

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[bulkbiker]

my first blood test was shown as "9.4"

This was presumably a finger prick test showing a level of blood glucose at that time of 9.4 mmol/l .

It's what many of us measure on home meters before and after eating to see the after effects of different food types on our blood glucose levels

The HbA1c is an "average" of these individual readings over the preceding 2-3 months in mmol/mol.

A converter is available here

Average Blood Sugar Level Converter - HbA1c

Use this calculator to convert HbA1c to Average Blood Sugar Level. HbA1c indicates what your average blood glucose level has been in the past 30-90 days.

www.diabetes.co.uk

Your 80 mmol/mol converts to an "average" of 12.5 mmol/l

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @indio02

They are two different measures which are related, but unfortunately there is no direct mathematical conversion between the two.

HbA1c measures how much glucose has ‘stuck’ to red blood cells. The more circulating glucose you have, the more red blood cells will have been affected. And because red blood cells live for around 120 days before being recycled it’s a way of observing the effect of blood glucose levels 24/7 over the past 3-4 months.

The 9.4 is a measure of capillary plasma glucose at that moment in time. But glucose levels fluctuate through the day, so at other times your spot-glucose result could have been higher or lower.

There are charts and tables as @bulkbiker suggests that can give an idea of the likely average glucose levels that would produce a particular HbA1c value, but it‘s not a mathematical conversion - more of a guide based on a best fit of empirical data (pairs of average glucose and HbA1c in a bunch of people). So average BG-to-HbA1c conversions may not match your actual results.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Hi @indio02 and welcome to the forum 🙂

Here's a chart showing different types of blood sugar results. The top row in each section is the HbA1c (3-month average), and the bottom row in each section show the equivalent in spot tests, which are in mmol/L (ignore the middle rows). The fact that your initial test result was 9.4 and that your 3-month average is 80 (or about 12.5) doesn't necessarily mean that your blood sugar has gone up, as the spot test really is just that, it only tells you what your blood sugar is doing at that moment. The HbA1c is more useful for diagnosis, the spot tests are more useful to tell you how different foods effect you and how you can manage your blood sugar from day to day (so it's worth getting your own meter to do this!).