What is the difference between HbA1c and a glucose test?
Glucose is a snapshot, the sugar in your blood this minute, swayed by the last meal, stress and sleep. HbA1c is the film: sugar has been sticking to red blood cells for their three month lifespan, and the test reads that accumulated coating.
That is why A1c diagnoses and monitors so well, and why it cannot catch day-to-day swings or dangerous lows, where finger-prick or sensor glucose still rules.
Anemia and some blood conditions distort A1c slightly. Together the two tests tell the whole story; alone, each has blind spots.
Source: American Diabetes Association, Standards of Care in Diabetes
See a doctor promptly if
- Excessive thirst, frequent urination, blurred vision or unexplained weight loss. These suggest diabetes and need testing, not tracking
- Sweating, shakiness, palpitations or confusion a few hours after eating that resolves with food, especially if repeated
- A fasting glucose of 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or more, or an HbA1c of 6.5 percent (48 mmol/mol) or more on repeat testing
Work out what your HbA1c meansneeds a lab result, free, nothing to install
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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