High HbA1c in Black compared with White people may falsify diabetes testing

Black individuals with diabetes and prediabetes have previously been shown to have higher levels of HbA1c than their White counterparts. However, there are little available data on links between ethnicity and HbA1c in nondiabetic individuals.

To investigate further, David Ziemer (Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) and colleagues recruited 1581 and 1967 non-Hispanic Black and White individuals without known diabetes from the SIGT (Screening for Impaired Glucose Tolerance) study and the NHANES III (Third National Health and Nutrition Examination) survey, respectively.

As reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the team found that HbA1c levels were 0.13% and 0.21% higher in Black than White participants with normal glucose tolerance (fasting plasma glucose [FPG] below 100 mg/dl) in the SIGT and NHANES III groups, respectively.

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Posted in: Conditions and Diseases, Diabetes mellitus, Emory University, Glycated hemoglobin, Internal medicine