Sometimes managing diabetes feels like a numbers game. Counting everything from carbs to calories, glucose to pounds adds up quickly ““ and it’s a lot to keep track of.
People with diabetes need to track one more number to make sure they’re keeping they’re diabetes as controlled as possible: A1C levels.
What is the A1C test?
The A1C test can be used to gauge how well you’re controlling your blood sugar, and to help guide your diet and medication. It can also be used to help diagnose diabetes and pre-diabetes.
People with diabetes are supposed to check their blood sugar levels a few times a day before and after meals. Those quick tests provide a snapshot of where their sugar levels are and help guide food choices as well as medication usage.
The A1C test measures a person’s average blood sugar level for the past three months. Like a baseball player’s batting average, it gives a big picture perspective on that person’s performance. Instead of measuring RBIs and home runs, the A1C test measures how tightly a person with diabetes is controlling his or her blood sugar over long periods of time, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
How does the A1C test work?
Red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen to all the cells in the body. When a person eats, the food breaks down into glucose, or sugar, and that glucose attaches to hemoglobin in red blood cells. Red blood cells live about three months, so the A1C test gives a good three-month reading on blood glucose levels.
Research has shown people who keep their A1C levels close to normal have a greatly reduced risk of suffering the long-term effects of diabetes, including amputations, cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, nerve damage and vision loss.
How to interpret your A1C results
A1C tests calculate estimated average glucose (eAG) levels, which are expressed in percentages. Here are a few numbers to keep in mind when looking at your A1C results:
- 7 percent or lower: patient has normal, non-diabetic, results
- 5 percent or higher: patient likely has diabetes
- 7 percent to 6.4 percent: patient likely has pre-diabetes
Keeping levels under seven percent has been shown to reduce the risk of long-term damage, but talk to your doctor about setting A1C goals. Very tight blood sugar control takes a lot of work, and in some people, the risk of hypoglycemia is greater than the risk of damage from slightly elevated blood sugar levels.
