1,5-Anhydroglucitol levels are low irrespective of plasma glucose levels in patients with chronic liver disease

Backgound Serum 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG) is a known marker reflecting recent glycaemic control. In this study, we examined serum 1,5-AG levels in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients with and without diabetes mellitus.Methods Eighty patients with CLD were compared with 667 subjects without CLD. Glycaemic control of the CLD patients was evaluated by estimated glycated haemoglobin (HbA 1C ) calculated using the equation by Rohlfing et al. from mean plasma glucose because CLD patients have apparently low HbA 1C .Results When the study participants were divided into subgroups stratified by HbA 1C levels, the CLD patients whose estimated HbA 1C levels were less than 7.0% showed significantly lower 1,5-AG than their counterparts of the control subjects. Stepwise multivariable analysis revealed that estimated HbA 1C was the significant explanatory variable for 1,5-AG in the CLD patients. However, in the CLD patients with estimated HbA 1C less than 5.8%, only hepaplastin test was the significant explanatory variable for 1,5-AG.Conclusions Serum 1,5-AG levels are low irrespective of plasma glucose levels in the CLD patients with and without diabetes. The CLD patients who had low serum 1,5-AG levels were associated with deteriorated liver function.