title: Glycated albumin is lower in infants than in adults and correlated with both age and serum albumin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Glycated albumin (GA) reflects glycemic control in patients with neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM). However, GA in NDM patients is apparently low in relation to glycemia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish the reference intervals for GA in healthy infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight healthy, full-term newborn infants were used to define the GA reference values and to investigate its relationship to plasma glucose (PG) and serum albumin. The infants were categorized into three groups according to age: group A, 5 (4-6) median (range) d: n = 18; group B, 33 (30-38) d: n = 19; and group C, 181 (50-352) d: n = 21. We also studied 212 non-diabetic adults [group D, 53 (28-78) yr old] and the 5 NDM patients previously reported for GA comparisons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the infants, GA was strongly positively correlated with logarithmic transformation of age [log (age)] (p = 0.831, p < 0.0001). The GA in groups A, B, C, and D were 7.3 ± 1.0%, 8.6 ± 1.1%, 10.9 ± 0.8%, and 14.0 ± 1.1%, respectively. The GA was more strongly positively correlated with serum albumin (r = 0.768, p < 0.0001) than with PG (r = 0.596, p < 0.0001). When GA levels were compared with the age-dependent reference values, GA in the transient NDM patient was normalized although GA in the four permanent NDM patients decreased but remained high after insulin therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that the reference range for GA in infants is lower than that of adults and increases with age, with which we confirmed that GA in the NDM patients reflected the clinical course. Consequently, GA in NDM patients should be compared with the age-based reference values to assess the accurate glycemic status.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Asahikawa Medical University, 2-1-1-1 Midorigaoka Higashi, Asahikawa, 078-8510, Japan. shige5p@asahikawa-med.ac.jp
authors: Shigeru
authors: S
authors: Suzuki
authors: Masafumi
authors: M
authors: Koga
authors: Noriyasu
authors: N
authors: Niizeki
authors: Akiko
authors: A
authors: Furuya
authors: Hironori
authors: H
authors: Takahashi
authors: Kumihiro
authors: K
authors: Matsuo
authors: Yusuke
authors: Y
authors: Tanahashi
authors: Yumi
authors: Y
authors: Kawata
authors: Hiroko
authors: H
authors: Asai
authors: Etsushi
authors: E
authors: Tsuchida
authors: Fumikatsu
authors: F
authors: Nohara
authors: Toshio
authors: T
authors: Okamoto
authors: Ken
authors: K
authors: Nagaya
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Azuma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis*; D000093423:Glycated Serum Albumin
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D012709:Serum Albumin; D000093423:Glycated Serum Albumin