The effect of age and gender on HbA1c levels in adults without diabetes mellitus

J Med Biochem. 2023 Oct 27;42(4):714-721. doi: 10.5937/jomb0-44190.

Abstract

Background: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels play an important role in diagnosing, screening, and monitoring the treatment of diabetes. Our study aims to determine whether a relationship exists between HbA1c levels and age and gender in Turkish adults who have not been diagnosed with diabetes.

Methods: This retrospective study included 6776 Turkish adults with no known diabetes. Cross-sectional analyses of A1C levels were performed between different age and gender categories. In statistical analysis, t-test, linear regression analysis, one-way ANOVA analysis, and LSD post hoc were used.

Results: HbA1c levels in the individuals examined by dividing into different age groups increased with age in all groups. In our study, HbA1c levels were significantly higher in males than females (p<0.001) in all groups, especially between the ages of 30-49, and were positively associated with age for males and females. There was a positive correlation between HbA1c and age in both mans and women aged 30-49 (P<0.05). In the HbA1c 6.5% group newly diagnosed with diabetes, HbA1c levels gradually decreased with age in both genders, and no significant effect of age on HbA1c level was detected (p>0.05).

Conclusions: Our results showed that it is important to evaluate the effects of age and gender when using HbA1c levels in the diagnosis, screening, and treatment of diabetes, especially in young and middle-aged populations. Applying this situation to daily practice may reduce the misdiagnosis of diabetes in elderly patients, overtreatment of diabetes, and its associated risks.

Uvod: Nivoi hemoglobina A1c (HbA1c) igraju važnu ulogu u dijagnostikovanju, skriningu i praćenju tretmana dijabetesa. Na{a studija ima za cilj da utvrdi da li postoji veza između nivoa HbA1c i starosti i pola kod turskih odraslih osoba kojima nije dijagnostikovan dijabetes.

Metode: Ova retrospektivna studija je obuhvatila 6776 turskih odraslih osoba bez dijabetesa. Izvršena je analiza nivoa A1C kod različitih starosnih i polnih kategorija. U statističkoj analizi su korišćeni t-test, linearna regresiona analiza, jednofaktorska ANOVA analiza i post hoc test sa LSD korekcijom.

Rezultati: Nivoi HbA1c kod ispitanika su ispitivani tako {to su podeljeni u različite starosne grupe. Nivoi HbA1c su se povećavali sa rastom životne dobi u svim grupama. U našoj studiji, nivoi HbA1c su bili značajno vi{i kod muškaraca u odnosu na žene (p<0,001) u svim grupama, posebno između 30. i 49. godine života, i bili su pozitivno povezani sa starošću kod muškaraca i žena. Postojala je pozitivna korelacija između HbA1c i starosti kod muškaraca i žena u dobi od 30-49 godina (p<0,05). U grupi sa HbA1c 6,5% kojima je nedavno dijagnostikovan dijabetes, nivo HbA1c se postepeno smanjivao s godinama kod oba pola, i nije primećen značajan uticaj godina na nivo HbA1c (p>0,05).

Zaključak: Naši rezultati pokazuju da je važno proceniti uticaj starosti i pola prilikom korišćenja nivoa HbA1c u dijagnostici, skriningu i tretmanu dijabetesa, posebno kod mladih i sredovečne populacije. Primena ove situacije u svakodnevnoj praksi može da smanji netačnu dijagnozu dijabetesa kod starijih pacijenata, preterano lečenje dijabetesa i povezane rizike.

Keywords: HbA1c; age; correlation; diabetes mellitus; gender.