title: Effects of α-Thalassemia on HbA1cMeasurement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  α-Thalassemia is a benign condition that is often present in patients with diabetes mellitus. Here, we evaluated the effects of different genotypes α-thalassemia on HbA1cmeasurement.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 189 samples from nondiabetic patients were analyzed. HbA1canalysis was performed by ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography, boronate affinity HPLC, immunoassay, and capillary electrophoresis. Fasting glucose, fructosamin, and HbA2were also performed. All samples were confirmed by genotyping for thalassemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients with two or three functional α-genes, HbA1cvalues were not significantly different from those of controls (P > 0.05); however, in individuals with α-thalassemia with one functional α-gene (i.e., HbH disease), HbA1clevels were significantly different from those of controls (P < 0.01). HbA1cvalues were significantly lower in individuals with HbH disease than in control individuals and patients in the other two α-thalassemia groups. For patients with HbH disease, there were no significant differences in the four HbA1cmeasurement systems (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, HbA1cvalues in samples from individuals with two or three functional α-genes basically reflected the normal mean blood glucose level, while those in samples from individuals with one functional α-gene did not.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medical Laboratory, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Anping
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medical Laboratory, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. 1120303921@qq.com.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medical Laboratory, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medical Laboratory, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medical Laboratory, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005215:Fasting / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D019270:Fructosamine / Q000097:blood; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins; D019270:Fructosamine; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human
keywords: HbA1c; HbH disease; mean blood glucose; red blood cell life span; α-thalassemia