Serum glycated albumin, glycated hemoglobin, and arterial stiffness in a general Chinese population.
BACKGROUND
Both glycated albumin (GA) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reflect the mean glucose levels. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships among GA, HbA1c, and arterial stiffness in the general population.


METHODS
A total of 11,014 participants were included. Serum GA; HbA1c; and arterial stiffness indices, including brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), were measured. Single-factor and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to compare the predictive value of GA, HbA1c, and their combination for arterial stiffness. All analyses were stratified by sex.


RESULTS
Men had a lower GA level than women. GA, HbA1c, and plasma glucose levels were correlated. The levels of baPWV and cSBP increased across sex-specific quartiles of GA and HbA1c (P for trend<0.001 for all). Both GA and HbA1c were positively related to elevated baPWV and cSBP after adjusting for conventional factors (P<0.05 for all). These relationships remained significant when participants were divided into groups with normal glucose tolerance, prediabetes, or diabetes. Regarding screening for elevated baPWV and cSBP, the values of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for GA were similar to those for HbA1c in men but were lower than those for HbA1c in women. The combination of GA and HbA1c did not improve the AUC compared with HbA1c alone.


CONCLUSIONS
Both GA and HbA1c were associated with arterial stiffness. The predictive value of GA for arterial stiffness was similar in men but lower in women compared with that of HbA1c.
Health Management Institute, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China. Electronic address: zq301@126.com.
Qiang
Q
Zeng
Healthcare Department, Agency for Offices Administration of PLA, Beijing 100034, China.
Sheng-Yong
SY
Dong
Center of Biomedical Analysis, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Man-Liu
ML
Wang
Health Management Institute, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
Wei-Min
WM
Wang
Healthcare Department, Agency for Offices Administration of PLA, Beijing 100034, China.
Jin-Ming
JM
Li
Healthcare Department, Agency for Offices Administration of PLA, Beijing 100034, China.
Zheng-Xue
ZX
Dai
Healthcare Department, Agency for Offices Administration of PLA, Beijing 100034, China.
Jie
J
Li
Physical Examination Center, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
Shu-Wen
SW
Yang
Physical Examination Center, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China. Electronic address: 13910889966@163.com.
Ling
L
Zhu
D044466:Asian People; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism*; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism*; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D000093423:Glycated Serum Albumin
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D012709:Serum Albumin; D000093423:Glycated Serum Albumin
Arterial stiffness; Central systolic blood pressure; Glycated albumin; Glycated hemoglobin; Pulse wave velocity