HBA1C AND MEAN GLUCOSE DERIVED FROM SHORT- TERM CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING ASSESSMENT DO NOT CORRELATE IN PATIENTS WITH HBA1C >8%

Objective: Optimum therapy for patients with diabetes depends on both acute and long-term changes in plasma glucose, generally assessed by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. However, the correlation between HbA1c and circulating glucose has not been fully determined. Therefore, we carefully examined this correlation when glucose levels were assessed by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Methods: Fifty-one patients (70% female, 30% male) were examined; among them were 28 with type 1 diabetes and 23 with type 2 diabetes. Clinically determined HbA1c levels were compared with blood glucose determined by CGM during a short time period. Results: Changes in HbA1c levels up to 8.0% showed a clear and statistically strong correlation (R = 0.6713; P < .0001) with mean blood glucose levels measured by CGM, similar to that observed in the A1c-derived Average Glucose study in which patients were monitored for a longer period. However, we found no statistical correlation (R = 0.0498; P =.83) between HbA1c and CGM-assessed glucose levels in our patient population when HbA1c was >8.0%. Conclusion: Short-term CGM appears to be a good clinical indicator of long-term glucose control (HbA1c levels); however, cautions should be taken while interpreting CGM data from patients with HbA1c levels >8.0%. Over-or underestimation of the actual mean glucose from CGM data could potentially increase the risks of inappropriate treatment. As such, our results indicate that a more accurate analysis of CGM data might be useful to adequately tailor clinical treatments.