Is an A1c of 5.7 bad?
An A1c of 5.7% (39 mmol/mol) is the first value in the prediabetes range, which runs from 5.7 to 6.4%. It is not diabetes, and it is the number most likely to come back down.
What moves it: losing 5 to 7% of body weight if you carry extra, 150 minutes of brisk walking a week, and cutting sugar in drinks. In the big prevention trials that cut progression to diabetes by more than half.
Retest in six to twelve months. A single 5.7 can also be a lab wobble; the trend over two or three tests tells you more than one.
See a doctor promptly if
- Excessive thirst, passing large amounts of urine, blurred vision or unexplained weight loss. These suggest blood sugar is already well above the prediabetes range
- Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, deep rapid breathing or a fruity smell on the breath: go to an emergency department
- A random blood glucose of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or higher, or a fasting glucose of 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or higher
- New numbness, burning or pins and needles in both feet
- A wound on the foot that is not healing, or a skin or genital infection that keeps returning
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Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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