Does the HbA1c test diagnose diabetes?
No, the HbA1c test is not used to diagnose diabetes. It is a tool used to help manage the disease. Even if there is an occasional high or low blood sugar reading, a good HbA1c result can show that overall you are doing a good job of controlling your diabetes. For diagnosig the disease, health care professionals will do a blood sugar check during an office visit to look for high elevations of glucose. If the blood sugar check is normal, but the physician still suspects a problem, he or she may require a fasting glucose or an oral glucose tolerance test.
