November 17, 2002
A1c (Glycohemoglobin, HgbA1c)
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Question from Roseville, California, USA:
I am confused about hemoglobin A1c values. My son’s recent one was 6.8% (normal: up to 6.6%) and his doctor was thrilled. However, then I hear other people saying this score is still too high, and we should be shooting for the low 6% range, which seems impossible to achieve without more hypos. Can I possibly be hearing about different scales or standards of measurement?
Answer:
From: DTeam Staff
Your confusion is entirely understandable and the problem arises because of the lack of standardisation of hemoglobin A1c assays. You cannot directly compare one analyser’s result with another. Take what your team says about your local assay result as gospel and ignore the others.
KJR
[Editor’s comment: Your son’s control is outstanding! Keep up the good work.
SS]
