Why HbA1c Test is Preferred Inspite of Blood Glucose Test?

HbA1c test (or Glycated Hemoglobin) is a blood test, not many of you might have heard about. This test is used to check whether a person has diabetes or not. Diabetes, is a disorder where the blood sugar level is raised.

Why check to for diabetes?

Monitoring diabetes is very important as it can affect various organs of your body. It can also make you prone to several other diseases. Uncontrolled diabetes can be very dangerous and can cost your life.

What tests are done to check for diabetes?

Blood glucose test is the most commonly used test which tells about the blood sugar levels at that point of time. It is of three types- fasting blood sugar (done after 10 to 12hrs of fasting), post meal blood sugar (done 2hrs after meal) and random blood sugar (done anytime in a day).

Further, there is the more preferred HbA1c test. The catch here is, HbA1c test also shows average blood glucose levels for the past three months.

Why HbA1c is preferred over blood glucose test?

You do not need to fast before the test, as the test results remain unaffected by food you just had.

• It requires only one-time collection of a small amount of blood, around 2mL.
• Results of the test are not affected by any current illness or stress.
• Test values are highly stable and indicate the sugar levels over a long term and not the at the moment of collection.
• HbA1c test is able to identify prediabetic individuals more efficiently.
• A positive result mean that he/she has had high blood sugar levels for some time.
• The results can be used to check if the sugar levels are within range or is there a need to adjust your medicines.

While blood glucose test is required to check the blood sugar levels routinely, the HbA1c test is more useful to tell about the long term state of diabetes. Thus needs to be done at least in every four or six months.

Do you really want to know if you have diabetes or not? Are you controlling your diabetes properly or not?
To find these answers go for a HbA1c test!