title: Sex and age discrepancy of HbA1c and fetal hemoglobin determined by HPLC in a large Chinese Han population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is accepted that HbA1c is an effective indicator to evaluate glycemic control. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is seldom measured because traditional detection is inconvenient. In this regard, there may be an advantage in using HPLC autoanalysis of HbA1c as a surrogate method for HbF detection. The aim of the present study was to explore the distribution of HbA1c and HbF in a large Chinese Han population.
  
  
  METHODS
  In all, 70 553 blood samples were collected between January 2012 and June 2016. Study subjects were inpatients undergoing routine medical care and were divided into four groups based on age: Group A, 20-39 years; Group B, 40-59 years; Group C, 60-79 years; and Group D, ≥80 years. Blood HbA1c and HbF concentrations were measured by HPLC using a Tosho Bioscience (Tokyo, Japan) G8 analyzer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a positive association between HbA1c and age, and a negative association between HbF and age. The concentration range of HbF was narrow and HbF concentrations were significantly higher in females than males, regardless of age (median 0.7% vs 0.6%, respectively; P < 0.0001). There was a low degree of correlation between HbF and HbA1c (r = 0.181, P < 0.0001). Although median HbA1c levels were higher in male than female subjects aged 20-59 years (5.5% vs 5.4%, respectively, in Group A; 5.9% vs 5.8%, respectively in Group B), in the 60-79 years group, HbA1c levels were lower in males than females (6.1% vs 6.2%, respectively; P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data suggest that sex and age should be considered in clinical interpretation of HbA1c.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jihong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Nanjing Traditional Chinese Medical University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jianbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005319:Fetal Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D038321:Glycemic Index; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005319:Fetal Hemoglobin; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human
keywords: HbA1c; High Performance Liquid Chromatography; age; fetal hemoglobin; hemoglobin A1c; sex; 年龄; 性别; 胎儿血红蛋白; 高效液相色谱法