February 14, 2006
A1c (Glycohemoglobin, HgbA1c), Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Columbus, Ohio, USA:
My mom has been a type 1 diabetic for 40 years. Recently, she tested my four year old son and his blood sugar was 129 mg/dl [7.2 mmol/L]. I did two fasting blood sugars and they were 79 mg/dl [4.4 mmol/L] and 90 mg/dl [5.0 mmol/L]. Our pediatrician did an A1c and it was 5.6. He said that was within normal range, but my mom’s diabetic doctor says that’s “high normal” and that we should be concerned. What is the A1c range for a juvenile non-diabetic?
Answer:
A typical A1c for a non-diabetic is between 4.5 and 5.5. Your child’s A1c is still close to normal. The best way to watch for diabetes is to monitor carefully for the symptoms of diabetes such as excessive thirst, excessive hunger, frequent urination and weight loss. Doing random blood sugars on a home glucometer is not as helpful and frequently only cause parents to worry.
MSB
