Glycated haemoglobin predicts progression to diabetes mellitus in Pima Indians with impaired glucose tolerance

✍ Scribed by R. R. Little; J. D. England; H. M. Wiedmeyer; R. W. Madsen; D. J. Pettitt; W. C. Knowler; D. E. Goldstein

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 488 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0012-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00398051

✦ Synopsis

Glycated haemoglobin could offer several practical advantages over the OGTT for assessing glucose metabolism. Initial cross-sectional studies (1983)(1984)(1985) on 381 subjects (mostly Pima Indians) described the relationship between HbAlc (a specific glycated Hb) and the OGTT. We performed follow-up OGTTs and HbA~c measurements on 257 of these same subjects 1.6-6.1 years later. Subjects were again grouped according to both the result of the OGTT (normal, IGT or diabetes, by WHO criteria) and HbA~ result (normal or elevated based on mean + 1.96 SD of normal). Of 66 subjects with IGT at baseline, 47 (71%) had nor-mal HbAlo and 19 (29 % ) had elevated HbAlo. Twentysix (39 %) of these subjects had diabetes at follow-up. Of these subjects with IGT, a significantly greater percentage of subjects with elevated HbAlc at baseline (68 %) showed worsening to diabetes than those with a normal HbAlo (28%); (chi-square =7.8, dr= 1, p < 0.01). Thus, in subjects with IGT, glycated Hb may be a useful predictor of progression to diabetes. [Diabetologia (1994) 37: 252-256]