A1c may not accurately reflect postpartum glucose

[Guest guest]

In women with recent gestational diabetes, alignment of A1c with glucose

levels is only " fair, " new research shows.

" A1c tests are easy to use after delivery for a diabetes screening test, but

clinicians should be aware that they do not match up well with glucose in

this time period when iron stores tend to be low and women's hemoglobin

levels are in flux, " Dr. Kim of the University of Michigan, Ann

Arbor told Reuters Health by email.

In a July 12th online paper in Diabetes Care, she and her colleagues report

on 54 women with histories of gestational diabetes who were reassessed

between 6 weeks and 36 months postpartum.

An A1c at or above 5.7% had 65% sensitivity and 68% specificity for

identifying women with either a fasting plasma glucose level of at least 100

mg/dL, or a two-hour glucose of at least 140 mg/dL. For identifying elevated

FPG alone, A1c had 75% sensitivity and 62% specificity.

A1c, the researchers note, does not require fasting or glucose loading, so

it could improve postpartum testing rates. However, " Use of glucose would

presumably lead to more diabetes diagnoses. "

Dr. Kim added that " correlations between hemoglobin A1c and glucose levels

from an oral glucose tolerance test are low at 6 weeks after delivery and

improve at 1 year after delivery. "

To determine the optimal test, she and her colleagues conclude,

" outcome-based studies are needed. "

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/qIkJmG

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and nutrition

Join me on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/TheFrugalDietitian?ref=ts>

EBates: $10 Gift card sign up bonus or $5 AND Shopathome.com

$5<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=23976>

Dietitian vs

Nutritionist<

* " Nutrition is a Science, Not an Opinion Survey " *