Abstract
Recently, plasma fructosamine concentration has been used as an indication of mean plasma glucose level preceding at last 1 to 2 weeks. In the present study, to chracterize the clinical significance and problems of plasma fructosamine concentration in aged subjects (≥65yrs), we determined plasma fructosamine concentration as well as serum albumin, total protein, HbA1, AbA1c and fasting plasma glucose concentrations in 81 (<65yrs) non-diabetic subjects (group A), 161 aged (≥65 yrs) non-diabetic subjects and 26 aged diabetics (group D). Aged non-diabetic subjects were further classified into 75 subjects with good ADL (group B) and 86 with poor ADL (group C). The normal limit of plasma fructosamine concentration (mean±2SD) in group A was 24% higher (3.1mmol/l) than that in group B (2.5mmol/l) but the plasma fructosamine/serum albumin ratio (F/ALB) was similar in these two groups. Plasma fructosamine correlated negatively (p<0.01) with age. This aging effect was explained by the reduced serum albumin in aged subjects. However, in group C, reduced plasma albumin was not associated with reduced plasma fructosamine. Plasma fructosamine corrected by albumin (F/ALB) is a useful parameter of blood glucose control in aged subjects. In aged subjects with poor ADL, HbA1, HbA1c and plasma glucose should be determined with fructosamine.
