One of the most commonly-used tests to diagnose pre-diabetes and diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) and to help manage diabetes, is the haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) test.
- The test is also known as the glycated haemoglobin or glycosylated haemoglobin test.
- Sugar enters your bloodstream from the food you eat. The sugar, or glucose, attaches to the haemoglobin in your red blood cells.
- Haemoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen to all the cells of your body. Everybody has some sugar attached to their haemoglobin.
- Those with pre-diabetes and diabetes, however, have more.
- The HbA1C test measures the percentage of your red blood cells that have sugar-coated, or glycated, haemoglobin. High A1C levels are a sign of high blood glucose from diabetes.
