Percentage of Hemoglobin A1C(HbA1c) as an Indicator of Pre-Diabetic Condition in Impaired Glucose Level Patients

Background: The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus has emerged as a worldwide public health problem in the past 20 years. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, estimated to account for 85–90% of diabetes. Hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA1c) has been widely used as a clinically important assessment tool for outcome analyses related to glycemic control. The HbA1c test has been shown to predict the risk for the development of many of the chronic complications in diabetes. Objectives: The study was undertaken to find out if HbA1c levels can be used as indicator of the pre-diabetic condition in patients with impaired blood sugar levels around Kathmandu valley and to find out the percentage of HbA1c in those patients. Also a correlation analysis with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) levels was carried out. Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences. A total of 102 patients with impaired blood glucose levels participated in the study. Estimation of HbA1c was performed by using a commercial NycoCard Kit, a rapid in vitro test for the measurement of glycated hemoglobin in human blood. Results: The mean % of HbA1c was found to be 6.44902 amongst the 102 patients and no correlation was found to be observed between HbA1c with IFG and IGT values. Conclusion: In conclusion HbA1c % proved to be a valuable indicator of the pre-diabetic condition and could contribute to understanding the role of the various risk factors of dietary, social and physical nature in the development of diabetes.