What This Means
The issue with the G6PD genetic variant is it artificially lowers the value of blood sugar in the HbA1c test, and can lead to under-diagnosis of people with type 2 diabetes. Otherwise the HbA1c test remains a suitable test for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes for the majority of people.
The HbA1c test measures the amount of glucose, or sugar that is carried by the red blood cells in the body, for the previous two to three months. The G6PD genetic variant shortens the three-month lifecycle of red blood cells. So in African Americans who have this variant, their red blood cells don’t live long enough to bind to the glucose in the blood. Therefore these people will have a lower level of HbA1c, which won’t show as a positive result for type 2 diabetes.
Medicine is not a one size fits all and studies like this are one step closer to precision medicine, which takes people’s genetics into account, and improve diagnosis and monitoring for diseases such as diabetes. In the meantime, an option would be to genetically screen African Americans for the G6PD variant alongside the HbA1c test in order to accurately diagnose type 2 diabetes, or use other diagnostic tests such as fasting glucose measurements.
Nurse Alice is a nationally board-certified and award-winning cardiac clinical nurse specialist and emergency room nurse with nearly two decades of experience in cardiovascular health. She is a community health activist and freelance media health expert. She has appeared on various national radio and TV shows including Dr. Oz, The Doctors, Dr. Drew, News One with Roland Martin, Tom Joyner Morning Show and more. She is also the author of “Curb Your Cravings: 31 Foods to Fool Your Appetite.”
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