Abstract
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) have evaluated the role of hemoglobin A1c (A1C) for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association 2010 Clinical Practice Recommendations endorse the use of A1C of 6.5% or higher as the primary criterion for the diagnosis of diabetes. Such testing does not require the patient to be fasting, can be done at any time that a clinical visit is scheduled, is simpler to perform than the 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test, and is less dependent on the patient's health status at the time a blood sample is obtained. AACE/ACE do not endorse A1C criteria for prediabetes or for those patients at risk for diabetes. AACE/ACE do support an A1C of 5.5% to 6.4% as a screening test for prediabetes if it leads to measurement of a fasting glucose level or performance of a glucose tolerance test for diagnosis.
