About A1C

While blood glucose testing tells you what your glucose level is at the time you test, A1C tells you your glucose average over a two to three month period. A1C testing tells you how well your overall diabetes treatment plan is working.

Your daily diabetes treatment plan should include healthy eating, physical activity, taking any prescribed medications, and blood glucose monitoring.

If you know your A1C percentage, you will know if your blood sugar is under control. A high number, above eight percent, is a sign that you should work with your health care provider to change your treatment plan. A good test result, seven percent or lower, is a sign that your treatment plan is working and your blood sugar is under control.

Both the DCCT and UKPDS studies showed that the lower the A1C number, the greater the chances that people with diabetes will slow or prevent the development of serious eye, kidney and nerve disease. The studies also showed that if people with diabetes can lower their A1C number by any amount, they will improve their chances of staying healthy.

Relationship of A1C to Blood Glucose Testing

Studies show a relationship between your A1C result and your blood glucose test results. The chart below shows the approximate relationship between the two tests.

A1C%	Average Plasma Glucose (mg/dL)	Interpretation
4	65	Non-Diabetic Range
5	100
6	135
7	170	ADA Target for Diabetes in Control
8	205	Action Suggested according ADA guidelines
9	240
10	275
11	310
12	345

Test Frequency and Other Tests

You should get an A1C test at least two times a year if your blood sugar is in the target range and stable. If you are taking insulin, if your treatment changes or your blood sugar stays too high, you should get the A1C test at least every three months until your blood sugar level improves. Since about 50 percent of the A1C result is from the last 30 days, your physician may wish to perform the test more frequently to check the effect of any "conntreatment" changes.

In addition to A1C and daily blood glucose testing, other important tests for diabetes care include: dilated eye exam, foot examination, blood pressure, kidney function (Microalbumin test), and lipid profile. Be sure to ask your physician about all of these tests.