Can the A1C Test Diagnose Diabetes?
Doctors often use a lab test called the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test to find out whether someone has diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, people who have an FPG level of at least 126 mg/dl have diabetes. This cut-off point was selected, in part, because it is linked to the presence of diabetic eye disease, one of the earliest complications to develop in people with diabetes. Researchers and doctors are now considering whether the A1C test, which measures blood glucose over several months, might also be used to diagnose diabetes. Unlike FPG, A1C tests do not require patients to fast overnight and their results are less affected by short-term changes in eating and exercise. However, no specific A1C cut-off point has been set to diagnose diabetes.
