Carbohydrate Intake Is Correlated with the Glycated Albumin to Glycated Hemoglobin Ratio in Drug-Naive Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background: The glycated albumin (GA) to HbA1c ratio (GA/HbA1c ratio) has been reported to reflect postprandial hyperglycemia. Carbohydrate is the primary dietary macronutrient that causes postprandial hyperglycemia. Thus, we investigated whether carbohydrate intake was associated with the GA/HbA1c ratio in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Daily energy intake and carbohydrate intake were estimated in twenty-two patients with type 2 diabetes who received no pharmacological therapy (18 men and 4 women, age 53 ± 11 years old). The energy index and the carbohydrate index were defined as the ratio of daily energy intake to body weight and daily carbohydrate intake to body weight, respectively. Results: The energy index was significantly correlated with the GA/HbA1c ratio (r = 0.451, p = 0.035), but not with fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c and GA. The carbohydrate index was significantly correlated with GA (r = 0.461, p = 0.031) and the GA/HbA1c ratio (r = 0.554, p = 0.007), but not with FPG and HbA1c. Multivariate analysis revealed that the carbohydrate index was independently associated with the GA/HbA1c ratio (β = 0.397, p = 0.046). Conclusions: The carbohydrate index was significantly correlated with GA and the GA/HbA1c ratio in the patients with type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that carbohydrate intake may be associated with the GA/HbA1c ratio through postprandial hyperglycemia.