What is HbA1c and why is it important?

The HbA1c test is a blood test that shows your average sugar (glucose) level in your blood over the
past 2-3 months. Glucose is a type of sugar that comes from food you eat. Hemoglobin is a protein in
your red blood cells. The higher the sugar in your blood, the more your hemoglobin will be coated
with glucose. An HbA1c test measures the percentage of sugar-coated hemoglobin.

Everybody has some sugar attached to their hemoglobin, but people with higher blood sugar levels
have more of it. The test results can help identify prediabetes or diagnose diabetes. It can also show
how well your diabetes treatment is working over a period of time. The higher your HbA1c levels
are, the greater your risk of developing complications from diabetes.

What do the numbers mean?

The numbers from the test have different meanings. In people without diabetes, the HbA1c values
range between 4.0% and 5.6%. Prediabetes values are between 5.7-6.5% and diabetes is 6.5% or
above. For most adults living with diabetes,it is recommended to keep their HbA1c level below 7% to
prevent diabetes-related complications.

Checking your HbA1c is important for people with diabetes along with monitoring your blood sugar
levels at home. Research shows that people who follow the recommended tests for diabetes
manage their disease better.

Usually, the HbA1c test is done at least twice a year if your treatment goals at met. If goals are not
met or if treatments change, your doctor may ask for the test every three months.

DAR-0359 RevA

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diagnostic-tests/a1c-test#whatis

https://labs.selfdecode.com/blog/hba1c-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/a1c-test/about/pac-20384643