How do hemoglobin variants affect the A1C test and my diabetes care?
A variant form of hemoglobin in your blood can give you false A1C test results. If your test result is falsely high, your doctor might change your diabetes medicine or make other changes in how you take care of your diabetes. These changes could cause low blood glucose, or hypoglycemia. If your test result is falsely low, your doctor might make changes in your treatment that could cause your blood glucose to stay too high, increasing your risk for diabetes problems in your eyes, nerves, and kidneys. Not all A1C tests are affected by variant hemoglobin. Your doctor can take steps to make sure you get accurate results from your A1C test.
