Context

India accounts for 17% of all diabetes patients in the world. To combat this huge percentage of non-communicable disease burden requires prevention and early detection. One of the most commonly-used tests to diagnose pre-diabetes and diabetes, is the haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) test.

About

About haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) test

• Sugar enters bloodstream from the food. The sugar, or glucose, attaches to the haemoglobin in red blood cells.
• Haemoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen to all the cells of the body.
• Everybody has some sugar attached to their haemoglobin. Those with pre-diabetes and diabetes, however, have more.
• The HbA1C test measures the percentage of red blood cells that have sugar-coated, or glycated, haemoglobin.