Objectives: We recently reported that glycated albumin (GA) in patients with Cushing's syndrome is low. In the present study, we examined whether serum albumin (SA)-adjusted GA (SAaGA) is an adequate indicator of glycemic control in patients with Cushing's syndrome.
Design and methods: We studied 26 patients with Cushing's syndrome (13 patients without diabetes and 13 patients with diabetes). Twenty six non-diabetic subjects and 26 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus matched for age, sex and BMI were used as the controls. SAaGA was calculated using the regression formula between SA and GA in non-diabetic patients with Cushing's syndrome and non-diabetic subjects.
Results: SA showed a significant correlation with GA in non-diabetic patients with Cushing's syndrome and non-diabetic subjects. GA, but not SAaGA, in non-diabetic patients with Cushing's syndrome was significantly lower than that in the non-diabetic controls. Furthermore, the GA/HbA1c ratio, but not the SAaGA/HbA1c ratio, in diabetic patients with Cushing's syndrome was significantly lower than that in the diabetic controls. The measured GA in the patients with Cushing's syndrome was significantly lower than the estimated GA, but there was no difference between SAaGA and the estimated GA.
Conclusions: The present findings suggest that SAaGA is an adequate indicator of the glycemic control in patients with Cushing's syndrome.
Keywords: Albumin; Cushing's syndrome; Glucocorticoid; Glycated albumin; HbA1c.
Copyright © 2014 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.