Abstract
The relationship between the HbAic and blood glucose levels of untreated diabetics, and the changes in HbAic after one month's treatment, were studied.
The results obtained were as follows.
1) The HbAic concentrations in untreated diabetics (11.18±2.27, mean±SD, percent of total hemoglobin) were significantly higher than those of normal subjects (5.32±0.63%, p<0.001).
2) The concentrations of HbAic in untreated diabetics were correlated with the fasting blood glucose levels measured on the same samples (r=0.51, p<0.001).
3) HbAic concentrations were closely associated with blood glucose levels at 1 hr and 2 hr of oral glucose tolerance tests (r=0.39, p<0.05; r=0.42, p<0.02, respectively).
The HbAic levels before and after diabetic treatment were compared in 19 diabetics (taken from a group of 43 untreated diabetics) who were measured for HbAic after 1 month's treatment, and in 6 patients who were changed to an alternative treatment due to poor control.
The results obtained were as follows.
1) After 1 month's treatment, the decrease in HbAic was similar in all cases where the blood glucose level had dropped to the same extent, whether treated with diet alone, sulfonylurea or insulin.
2) After 1 month's treatment, the decrease in HbAic was slower in patients with retinopathy than in those without retinopathy.
These findings indicated that the concentrations of HbAic in the untreated diabetics fully reflected the degree of hyperglycemia at that time.
The decrement of HbAic levels after 1 month's treatment was similar among the three kinds of therapy, but was slower in the diabetics with retinopathy than in those without.
