Open AccessSex and age discrepancy of HbA1c and fetal hemoglobin determined by HPLC in a large Chinese Han population
Author(s) -
Hu Jihong,
Gao Jun,
Li Jianbo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of diabetes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.949
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1753-0407
pISSN - 1753-0393
DOI - 10.1111/1753-0407.12544
Subject(s) - medicine , glycemic , hemoglobin , fetal hemoglobin , population , group b , diabetes mellitus , gastroenterology , fetus , endocrinology , pregnancy , biology , genetics , environmental health
Background It is accepted that HbA1c is an effective indicator to evaluate glycemic control. Fetal hemoglobin ( HbF ) is seldom measured because traditional detection is inconvenient. In this regard, there may be an advantage in using HPLC autoanalysis of HbA1c as a surrogate method for HbF detection. The aim of the present study was to explore the distribution of HbA1c and HbF in a large Chinese Han population. Methods In all, 70 553 blood samples were collected between January 2012 and June 2016. Study subjects were inpatients undergoing routine medical care and were divided into four groups based on age: Group A, 20–39 years; Group B, 40–59 years; Group C, 60–79 years; and Group D, ≥80 years. Blood HbA1c and HbF concentrations were measured by HPLC using a Tosho Bioscience (Tokyo, Japan) G8 analyzer. Results There was a positive association between HbA1c and age, and a negative association between HbF and age. The concentration range of HbF was narrow and HbF concentrations were significantly higher in females than males, regardless of age (median 0.7% vs 0.6%, respectively; P < 0.0001). There was a low degree of correlation between HbF and HbA1c ( r = 0.181, P < 0.0001). Although median HbA1c levels were higher in male than female subjects aged 20–59 years (5.5% vs 5.4%, respectively, in Group A; 5.9% vs 5.8%, respectively in Group B), in the 60–79 years group, HbA1c levels were lower in males than females (6.1% vs 6.2%, respectively; P < 0.0001). Conclusions The data suggest that sex and age should be considered in clinical interpretation of HbA1c .