HbA1c is a blood test that is used to diagnose type 2 diabetes. It is also used to monitor blood glucose control in people with diabetes.
HbA1c is short for glycated haemoglobin. The test is also sometimes called haemoglobin A1c.
Haemoglobin (Hb) is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen through your body. HbA1c refers to glucose and haemoglobin joined together (the haemoglobin is ‘glycated’). The amount of HbA1c formed is directly related to the amount of glucose in your blood.
Red blood cells live for an average of 120 days, so HbA1c gives an indication of how much sugar there has been in your blood over the past few months. It’s different to a blood glucose test, which measures how much sugar is in the blood at that moment.
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16 сен 2024
