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Review
. 2016 Jul 3:11:95-104.
doi: 10.4137/BMI.S38440. eCollection 2016.

Significance of HbA1c Test in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Diabetic Patients

Shariq I Sherwani  1 , Haseeb A Khan  2 , Aishah Ekhzaimy  3 , Afshan Masood  4 , Meena K Sakharkar  5
Affiliations
Review

Significance of HbA1c Test in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Diabetic Patients

Shariq I Sherwani et al. Biomark Insights. .

Abstract

Diabetes is a global endemic with rapidly increasing prevalence in both developing and developed countries. The American Diabetes Association has recommended glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) as a possible substitute to fasting blood glucose for diagnosis of diabetes. HbA1c is an important indicator of long-term glycemic control with the ability to reflect the cumulative glycemic history of the preceding two to three months. HbA1c not only provides a reliable measure of chronic hyperglycemia but also correlates well with the risk of long-term diabetes complications. Elevated HbA1c has also been regarded as an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke in subjects with or without diabetes. The valuable information provided by a single HbA1c test has rendered it as a reliable biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of diabetes. This review highlights the role of HbA1c in diagnosis and prognosis of diabetes patients.

Keywords: HbA1c; blood test; diabetes; diagnosis; prognosis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Formation of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from the binding of glucose to hemoglobin.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of diabetes in (A) USA and (b) Saudi Arabia versus the entire world. Source: https://www.idf.org/membership/mena/saudi-arabia. Abbreviations: NAC, North America and Caribbean; MENA, Middle East and North Africa.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlation between HbA1c and FBG in type 2 diabetic patients. Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Association between glycaemic control and serum lipids profile in type 2 diabetic patients: HbA1c predicts dyslipidaemia. Volume 7, 2007, 24–29, Khan HA, Sobki SH, Khan SA. (Copyright © 2007, Springer-Verlag Italia) Reused with permission of Springer.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Diagnostic potential of HbA1c. Notes: The histogram is showing the frequency of patients versus HbA1c. The vertical reference line shows the cutoff value of 6.5% HbA1c. Reprinted from Khan et al. with permission from Taylor and Francis, www.tandfonline.com.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Prognostic potential of HbA1c. Impact of HbA1c on various parameters. The patients were categorized into three groups according to HbA1c levels: group 1 (HbA1c ≤6%), group 2 (HbA1c >6%–9%), and group 3 (HbA1c >9%). Notes: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 group 1 versus group 2; #P < 0.05 and ###P < 0.001 group 2 versus group 3. Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Association between glycaemic control and serum lipids profile in type 2 diabetic patients: HbA1c predicts dyslipidaemia. Volume 7, 2007, 24–29, Khan HA, Sobki SH, Khan SA. (Copyright © 2007, Springer-Verlag Italia) Reused with permission of Springer.
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