Glycosylated Hemoglobin in Diabetes Mellitus: Correlations with Fasting Plasma Glucose, Serum Lipids and Glycosuria

Abstract

The levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (GlHb), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), urine glucose, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol were monitored in several hundred patients attending an adult diabetic clinic. Thirty-five percent of the patients were being treated with insulin, 30% with diet alone, and 20% with sulfonylurea. Therapy was changed during the study in the remaining 15%. The levels of GlHb and FPG were significantly lower in the patients treated with diet alone than in the other groups. The overall coefficient of correlation (r) between FPG and GlHb was 0.64, with the highest r (0.70) for the diet group and the lowest r (0.55) for the insulin group. A follow-up study showed that in about 50% of the patients GlHb and FPG levels changed in different directions from one visit to the next. The absence of glycosuria was noted in two-thirds of the patients, while in 78% of the patients GlHb values were above the normal range. A weak but positive correlation was found between GlHb and serum triglycerides and cholesterol. There was no significant correlation between GlHb and HDL-cholesterol. The HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly lower in male than in female diabetic subjects, but no significant difference was found between the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects of the same sex. The results of this study suggest that (1) although there is a positive correlation between GlHb and FPG, the two tests cannot be used interchangeably in the evaluation of diabetic control; and (2) in the majority of the patients the absence of glycosuria tends to create the false assurance of satisfactory blood glucose control.

Correlation of glycosylated hemoglobin with microalbuminuria to predict renal damage in diabetic patients

“…This study shows that the level of glycosylated hemoglobin also increases with levels of fasting plasma sugar levels. This was supported in the studies of Aleyassine et al 10 and Tahara et al 13 This was also associated with increasing levels of serum creatinine which was highly significant, thus indicating renal damage. This was similar to the findings of the studies of Forsblom et al, 15 Bruno et al, 18 Adler et al, 19 Rossing et al, 21 Retnakaran et al, 23 Parvanova et al, 24 Parving et al 25 and Makita et al 29 A highly significant correlation was also seen with the rise in the levels of microalbuminuria along with the increase in fasting plasma sugar.…”

Tropical pancreatic diabetes in South India: heterogeneity in clinical and biochemical profile

“…This appears to be due to the low LDL-cholesterol level in men and low LDL-and HDL-cholesterol levels in women. The observation that young women with tropical pancreatic diabetes have significantly lower HDL-cholesterol levels is interesting because the opposite is true of young non-diabetic women and young women with Type2 diabetes [27]. This may be a result of endocrine abnormalities which are frequently seen in female patients with tropical pancreatic diabetes [28].…”

Methods for Predicting Diabetes Phase III Efficacy Outcome From Early Data: Superior Performance Obtained Using Longitudinal Approaches

“…11,12 Similar relations have been proposed for the relationship between HbA1c and mean plasma glucose (MPG) calculated from 24-h glucose profiles based on either 7- to 11-point SMPG profiles or continuous measurements. 13,14 Measuring FPG is less of a burden from a patient's point of view.…”