Glycated haemoglobin or mean blood glucose as indicators of metabolic control in Type 2 diabetes?

The aim of the study was to assess whether HbA(1c) levels reflected mean blood glucose (MBG) levels in Type 2 diabetes. Despite the good correlation between HbA(1c) and MBG, one-third of the patients had consistently higher HbA(1c) or lower HbA(1c) levels than that expected under the hypothesis that HbA(1c) is solely determined by MBG, suggesting the existence of different haemoglobin glycation phenotypes. The use of HbA(1c) alone for glycemic control monitoring in these patients could be insufficient to clearly trace their risk of complications.