• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

I do not understand this...

A

Alex_B

Well-Known Member
Messages
168
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
A few days ago I asked for the results from when I was in hospital like all the tests they did, maybe I shouldn't of because I do not understand a word.

Just wanted to know what this meant: "recommend 48 mmol/mol as the diagnostic cut-off for type 2 diabetes."

Can someone explain this to me, in basic form, I don't know why I asked this of them, cause now im regretting it.

Posted this on Diabetes UK forums, just curious about what this means.
 
It sounds like you had an HbA1c test done - this is a measure of average glucose levels over the last 2-3 months. Glucose can bind to haemoglobin, the red oxygen-carrying pigment in the blood. The higher the blood glucose levels have been, the higher the HbA1c. The reason that the test reflects only the last 2-3 months is that haemoglobin is located within the red blood cells and they only live for that length of time before they are broken down. The test measures the ratio of the number of bound glucose molecules to the number of haemoglobin molecules in the blood and the units HbA1c is measured in are mmol/mol (pronounced milllimoles per mole).

The information you were given was saying that if your HbA1c was 48 mmol/mol or greater, this would suggest you have diabetes (although never rely on a single test result). The World Health Organisation also says, "A value of less than 48mmol/mol (6.5%) does not exclude diabetes diagnosed using glucose tests."
Reference: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_u...itoring/New_diagnostic_criteria_for_diabetes/
 
Last edited:
Alex_B said:
A few days ago I asked for the results from when I was in hospital like all the tests they did, maybe I shouldn't of because I do not understand a word.

Just wanted to know what this meant: "recommend 48 mmol/mol as the diagnostic cut-off for type 2 diabetes."

Can someone explain this to me, in basic form, I don't know why I asked this of them, cause now im regretting it.

Posted this on Diabetes UK forums, just curious about what this means.
Click to expand...

Hi Alex,
It can be very frustrating at first until you get your head around some numbers, but once you do it's pretty basic stuff on the surface. I am not clear on what you mean exactly by "all the tests"...presumably a basic set of blood tests. You state that you are Type 1. When were you told this? The quote you use about 48mmol sounds more a general statement rather than your own actual blood glucose level...but it should have been made clearer to you. A call to your GP should let you check what your last HbA1c result was. My own current HbA1c is 43..and that's generally classed as what's called pre-diabetic, but it was much higher when I was first diagnosed and is only now in the low forties coz I have cut out a lot of certain kinds of foods. Anyway, my advice is that asking questions here and looking about on line are the best way to go for now...I mean being informed is what will let you take control. As was very well explained above by @Dark Horse, your HbA1c is essentially a test which shows your average over the past 3 month period and is pretty accurate. that is in contrast to the readings we can get from testing ourselves with meters, which only give the blood glucose level at a given moment (which is still very, very useful). Keep asking questions, mate. Good luck.
 
Back
Top