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What's the average HbA1c result?

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farmerfudge

Well-Known Member
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Leicester
Now I know everyone is an individual and we're all different, but as I had my blood taken this morning for my forthcoming HbA1c I was wondering what the average reading is for T1s nationally at any given time? Does a primary care trust have a specific target to hit for example :?:
 
our gp surgery say anything under 7.5, i was told that they do hardly have any diabetics that are in single numbers,
my last one in feb 09 was 5.9, one before 7.8, one before 7.2
 
While it's not an average value (but possibly based on averages, as quite a lot of recommendations are), my doctor also said that 7.5 would be an ideal level for a t1 diabetic.

With my last hba1c being 8.0, he was possibly giving me something realistic to aim at, but it is a number that comes up frequently in relation to t1's.
 
This from 2006, although it refers specifically to type 2's:


This from a study by Liverpool University specifically related to type 1's:

Over 11 years, the total mean (SD) HbA1c was 9.19% (1.3). Only 3.4% of patients achieved an average HbA1c of <7% during the study period, and 80% of patients had average HbA1c levels of >8%.
Click to expand...

Truly scary numbers.

fergus
 
Reading those quotes makes me feel a little better about my son's appualing hba1c on his last appt!

Its over 10 at the mo - we really struggle to get his insulin right especially thru the colder weather - he tends to spike up and down all the time its really frustrating - but it seem s we're not alone with those figures
 
I really do hope also that the sight of scary HbA1c numbers actually prompts people to do something about them, and not simply take encouragement from being in the same boat as others. Safety in numbers is irrelevant to the consequences of having consistently high results for this test, and just does not apply.

I think I've heard that Diabetes UK recommend a target HbA1c of 7.5% for T1s, which may be why doctors also quote it? A lot of people on this forum recognise this figure is way too high to allow continued good health in the long term. Despite the recent blip my average HbA1c results over 27 years work out at 6.3%, based on testing every 6 months, and I have textbook complications. Sure there's more to the picture than just HbA1c results due to the nature of how they're derived, BUT there's currently no method of continuous measurement so we just have to make do, and do our very best to aim for non-diabetic numbers.

I'm genuinely sorry this post sounds a lot harsher than it's meant to and no offence is intended, but it needs to be said. I am now wearing full body armour, so let the onslaught commence! :wink:
 
Thanks guys.

I was aware of the 7.5% target but was wondering if threre was an up-to-date figure for an actual average reading nationally. Fergus has come up with that I think:

Over 11 years, the total mean (SD) HbA1c was 9.19% (1.3). Only 3.4% of patients achieved an average HbA1c of <7% during the study period, and 80% of patients had average HbA1c levels of >8%.
Click to expand...

In response to kegstore, I'm not looking for 'safety in numbers' here. I just thought I was missing te bigger picture. People tend to only post either really good results or really bad results on here. You dont get a clear picture of the majority experience :?
 
NICE currently suggest that blood glucose control should be optimised towards attaining HbA1c targets for prevention of microvascular disease of less than 7.5% and in those at increased risk of arterial disease of levels less than or equal to 6.5% as appropriate. [ from NICE AND DIABETES: A summary of relevant guidelines July 2006 ]

That's where our health care people get the less than 7.5% figure unless you have had some form of CVD.

Non diabetic people have a very limited spectrum of blood sugar ranges and corresponding HbA1C’s of 3.5-5.5% on average on the basis of some research I've been doing.
 
I¨m type 1 and my last test was 5.3. My husband isn´t diabetic and his last test was also 5.3. I don´t quite understand this :?:
 
As far as I have been able to find out, because not much has been done on it, the average HbA1c for a non-diabetic is 5.1%
therefore that ought to be the target. However not all targets which are aimed for are hit, so as near that as possible, whilst avoiding too many hypos, would seem to be sensible.
I'm not a T1, so maybe my opinion doesn't count for much, but I have been married to one for 37 years and I can't see any sense in aiming for double the non-diabetic level, which is what they used to do.
 
Newbie type 1 with 1st HbA1C looming... really useful chain of comments as ever thanks guys. Don't expect 1st one will be great with the learning curve I've been on but at least I can use it to move onwards and upwards and know what to aim for.
 
My 2.5 yr old coming up for his second anniversary of being a diabetic has an Hba1C of 7.2 and before that 7.0 (the worst has been 8.7). It is really hard keeping this sort of control and I don't get many full nights of sleep because of it. I can only say that practice makes perfect, sometimes. I still only test 7-8 times a day and it is only recently that I've had a few frequent hypo's. Illnesses have been driving me mad.

I know quite a few people that really struggle to keep good control and others that seem to do it with relative ease. Some people I've met that are really trying are still getting Hba1C's above 9? I certainly find that the simple carbs make blood sugars hard to manage and they don't really match insulin therapy well. Complex carbs make a much smoother line.

Jen.
 
susan1968 said:
I¨m type 1 and my last test was 5.3. My husband isn´t diabetic and his last test was also 5.3. I don´t quite understand this :?:
Click to expand...

That means you are doing very very well - what ever it is don't stop!
 
Hi Dillinger, thanks for the reply. I´m very strict with myself. I stick to my diet (low carb) during the week and I exercise a bit every day (sometimes walking, sometimes swimming). On weekends I go a little bit mad, I have a few beers and on Sundays "paella". I live in Spain and it´s quite typical to eat rice on Sundays.
 
FarmerFudge,

I view this forum on my on own behalf but I work in a GP surgery (I.T., not clinical). Your original question raised an interest so I dug into the computer system and came up with the following numbers:

As of midnight last night we had 17314 patients of whom, in the last 12 months, 687 diabetics have had 1032 HbA1c tests between them. The mean value of these HbA1c tests is 7.42%.
Our target for payment is 50% of diabetics to be 7.5% or less.

My last HbA1c was 7.2% (still awaiting result of blood test of last Tuesday) so, if I was registered where I work, would have reduced the average a little bit further!
 
Thanks DavidR that's exactly the kind of thing I was after. Those results seem incredible, I thought the average (mean) would be higher than that, so just goes to show. Be interesting to know what the national, actual, not target, a1c is at the moment. Great stuff though.
 
Being a bit of a 'reductionist' I would like to know the demographics of the average HbA1c results. Maybe this would also give some indication of why the national average is so high.
 
Hi cueball.

I have looked into this some time ago and basically there appears to be very little, if any actual data relating to the question you ask. There have been general surveys reported which relate to overall health in various areas of the country. Nothing to my knowledge as specific as HbA1c results, although there may be individual areas who have results. Nothing National.

Here is a link which explains a little.http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/co ... l/17/5/486

Nothing much seems to have changed. This was published in 2007 and actually refers to a survey in 1958. :shock:

If anybody has information to the contrary I too would be keen to get details.

Ken.
 
I've not found any type 1 figures, these are for type 2: There is a graph (fig 2) in Choosing to take Control a 2006 survey. http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Reports/Choose_Control_report.pdf
It shows for UK( approx, scale not too clear! ) 24%<6.5%, 22% 6.5%-7.5% and 54%> 7.5%

It has been known for some time that many people
across Europe with Type 2 diabetes are poorly
controlled (Figure 2)10,11,12,13 with the UK identified as
the country with the worst control.
Click to expand...
 
Hi phoenix.

Had seen that one. I don't think I would read too much into those figures though.This was the survey it was based on:

The data included in this report was derived from a survey commissioned by Lilly and
coordinated by an independent research organisation, GfK Healthcare. The survey
involved quantitative research and qualitative interviews of 787 subjects in 5 countries
(France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK). Data was collated by GfK Healthcare between
August and December 2006. Further data information can be provided upon request.


If you can find anything better, I'm all ears ?
Ken.
 
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