Advantages of HbA1c for Diabetes Diagnosis

  • No fasting necessary
  • Sample may be obtained any time of the day
  • Extremely low intra-individual variability (CV < 1%)
  • HbA1c is stable in sample material
  • Not altered by acute factors e.g., stress, exercise
  • Reflects long-term blood glucose concentration (8-12 weeks)
  • Assay standardized across instruments (only DiaSys)
  • Single sample
  • Used to guide treatment
  • Predicts the development of complications