Korean J Intern Med.  2016 May;31(3):535-542. 10.3904/kjim.2015.075.

Association between blood glucose level derived using the oral glucose tolerance test and glycated hemoglobin level

• Kim HJ
• Kim YG
• Park JS
• Ahn YH
• Ha KH
• Kim DJ

• KMID: 2163510
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2015.075

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is widely used as a marker of glycemic control. Translation of the HbA1c level to an average blood glucose level is useful because the latter figure is easily understood by patients. We studied the association between blood glucose levels revealed by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and HbA1c levels in a Korean population.
METHODS
A total of 1,000 subjects aged 30 to 64 years from the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Etiology Research Center cohort were included. Fasting glucose levels, post-load glucose levels at 30, 60, and 120 minutes into the OGTT, and HbA1c levels were measured.
RESULTS
Linear regression of HbA1c with mean blood glucose levels derived using the OGTT revealed a significant correlation between these measures (predicted mean glucose [mg/dL] = 49.4 × HbA1c [%] - 149.6; R2 = 0.54, p < 0.001). Our linear regression equation was quite different from that of the Alc-Derived Average Glucose (ADAG) study and Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) cohort.
CONCLUSIONS
Discrepancies between our results and those of the ADAG study and DCCT cohort may be attributable to differences in the test methods used and the extent of insulin secretion. More studies are needed to evaluate the association between HbA1c and self monitoring blood glucose levels.

Keyword

Diabetes mellitus; Hemoglobin A, glycosylated; Oral glucose tolerance test; Mean blood glucose level

MeSH Terms

Blood Glucose*
Cohort Studies
Diabetes Mellitus
Fasting
Glucose
Glucose Tolerance Test*
Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
Humans
Insulin
Linear Models
Metabolic Diseases
Blood Glucose
Glucose
Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
Insulin