Effect of Iron Deficiency Anemia on Glycosylated Hemoglobin Levels in Non Diabetic Indian Adults

Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is used as a gold standard for monitoring glycemic control and as a predictor of diabetic complications. Conditions that effect erythrocyte turnover affect HbA1c concentration. Although many forms of anemia are associated with lowering of HbA1c, iron deficiency anemia tends to increase HbA1c. However, reports on the effects of iron deficiency anemia on HbA1c are inconsistent. So we conducted a study to analyze the effects of iron deficiency anemia on HbA1c levels in non diabetics. 40 Non diabetic anemia patients and 40 age matched healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. HbA1c and absolute HbA1c levels were measured in patients and controls. The mean HbA1c and absolute HbA1c levels in anemic non diabetic patients were significantly lower than that in the control group. The trend for HbA1c to increase with iron deficiency does not appear to require screening for iron deficiency in ascertaining the reliability of HbA1c in the diagnosis of diabetes / prediabetics.