title: Serum glycated albumin as a new glycemic marker in pediatric diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Serum glycated albumin (GA) has been recently used as another glycemic marker that reflects shorter term glycemic control than glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Insulin secretory function and glycemic fluctuation might be correlated with the ratio of GA to HbA1c (GA/HbA1c) in diabetic adult patients. This study investigated the association of GA and GA/HbA1c ratio with the levels of fasting C-peptide, fasting plasma glucose in type 1 and type 2 pediatric diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total 50 cases from 42 patients were included. The subjects were classified into type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) (n=30) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (n=20) group. The associations among HbA1c, GA, and GA/HbA1c ratio were examined. The relationship between the three glycemic indices and fasting glucose, fasting C-peptide were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean values of GA, the GA/HbA1c ratio were significantly higher in T1DM than T2DM. GA (r=0.532, P=0.001), HbA1c (r=0.519, P=0.002) and the GA/HbA1c ratio (r=0.409, P=0.016) were correlated with the fasting plasma glucose. Fasting C-peptide level arranged 4.22±3.22 ng/mL in T2DM, which was significantly above the values in T1DM (0.26±0.49 ng/mL). There were no significant correlation between HbA1c and fasting C-peptide level. However, GA and the GA/HbA1c ratio exhibited inverse correlations with fasting C-peptide level (r=-0.214, P=0.002; r=-0.516, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GA seems to more accurately reflects fasting plasma glucose level than HbA1c. GA, GA/HbA1c ratio appear to reflect insulin secretory function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Se
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Weon
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Child; Diabetes mellitus; Glycosylated hemoglobin A; Glycosylated serum albumin