HbA1c For the Diagnosis of Pre-Diabetes: It is The Time For Mid-Course Correction

The lifestyle modifications in the pre-diabetic stage can not only delay the development of diabetes mellitus by ≥10 years, but it can also prevent the development of the disease if there is no strong family history of diabetes mellitus. Hence, the diagnosis of pre-diabetic stage is the prime aim of the present study. All 91 subjects (staff of a medical college) were enrolled in the present study. Control group comprising of 38 subjects of age 35-50 years. Test group comprising of total 53 prediabetic (n=32) and not known diabetic patients (n=21) of same age group. Biochemical parameters like Fasting Blood Glucose level, Serum Insulin levels, Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level, and complete lipid profile were analyzed in all groups. The HbA1c values were significantly increased (P 0.001) in prediabetic as well as diabetic group as compared to control group. Positive correlation of HbA1c was found with serum insulin, total cholesterol, TG and LDL-Cholesterol in both prediabetic and diabetic groups. However, HDL-cholesterol shows negative co-relation in prediabetic (r = -0.15) and diabetic group (-0.09). Therefore, HbA1c is the important diagnostic tool for screening of prediabetic condition.