Several studies have reported that Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels increase with age for people without diabetes. However, HbA1c levels associated with age and gender have not been well investigated for Taiwanese adults. The objective of this study was to investigate the sex-specific association between HbA1c levels and age for Taiwanese adults without diabetes. The data were collected from the Taiwan Biobank database with inclusive criteria being participants without diabetes. The association between HbA1c values and age was conducted by linear regression analysis, HbA1c values between sexes were compared by two-sample t-test, and HbA1c levels among age groups were compared using one-way ANOVA. The results showed that HbA1c levels were positively correlated with age, and the levels for males were significantly higher than for females among all participants. However, there was no significantly positive correlation between HbA1c levels and age in males for age group of 50-70 years. The levels of males were significantly higher than females for age groups of 30-39 and 40-49 years. There were significant differences in HbA1c levels among age groups for all participants, males, and females except for the two age groups of 50-59 and 60-70 years in males. Age and gender were important factors affecting HbA1c levels. Our results suggested that the HbA1c cut-point levels for the diagnosis of diabetes should vary by age and gender.
Keywords: HbA1c; age; correlation; sex.