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April 25, 2005

Average HbA1c Levels are Over Nine (9) Percent

At the 2004 Diabetes Technology Meeting, Dr. Statish Garg of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, began a presentation on Rapid Acting Insulin Analogs by informing the audience that the average HbA1c for diabetic patients seeing primary care physicians is 9.7%.

For those under the care of endocrinologists HbA1c levels are not much better, averaging 9.3%.

Both levels are significantly higher than accepted guidelines and reflect a high risk for complications.

For example, a normal non-diabetic HbA1C is 3.5-5.5% with less than 6% being acceptable. The The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) found that an average HbA1c level of 7.2% resulted in a 76% reduction in retinopathy, a 60% reduction in neuropathy, a 50% reduction in kidney disease and a 35% reduction in cardiovascular disease.

The remarkably high average HbA1c level indicates that most individuals with diabetes are not able to manage their glucose levels acceptably. The solution? It's not simple but involves each person taking control of their diabetes management.

Posted by Diabetologica at April 25, 2005 11:31 PM