The assays of glycosylated proteins in haemoglobinopathies and their use in screening for diabetes mellitus

ABSTRACT

We compare the relative validity of HbA1c and fructosamine as indices of long-term blood glucose levels in populations with a common occurence of haemoglobinopathies. In these patients, HbA1c levels are lower than HbA1c levels in non-haemoglobinopathy patients and do not reflect the gludicic status of the patient, unlike the fructosamine assay. This last test has a good potential to be used a a mass screening for diabetes mellitus in these populations (Africa, Caribbean, USA) in either homozygous or heterozygous haemoglobinopathy patients. Moreover, fructosamine presents numerous technical advantages which facilitates the screening (AU)