Study of the effect of altitude on the measurement of glycated haemoglobin using point-of-care instruments

Cardiovasc J Afr. 2015 Jan-Feb;26(1):38-40. doi: 10.5830/CVJA-2014-078.

Abstract

We measured the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of a total of 24 non-diabetic volunteers and diabetic patients using a point-of-care (POC) analyser in three Cameroonian cities at different altitudes. Although 12 to 25% of duplicates had more than 0.5% (8 mmol/mol) difference across the sites, HbA1c values correlated significantly (r = 0.89-0.96). Further calibration studies against gold-standard measures are warranted.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Altitude*
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Cameroon
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diabetes Mellitus / blood*
  • Diabetes Mellitus / diagnosis
  • Equipment Design
  • Female
  • Glycated Hemoglobin / analysis*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Point-of-Care Systems* / standards
  • Point-of-Care Testing* / standards
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Glycated Hemoglobin A
  • hemoglobin A1c protein, human