Common type 2 diabetes test not accurate for Africans, study shows
Scientists have found 42 new genetic variants
People of African descent may mistakenly get the all-clear from a widely used type 2 diabetes test called HbA1c, according to an international study published in PLOS Medicine on September 12. Scientists found 42 new genetic variants that influence a person’s HbA1c measurements, including one that could lead to Africans and African-Americans being under-diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The findings have important implications as they suggest that using this test as the sole means to diagnose diabetes would do harm, said University of the Witwatersrand endocrinologist Alisha Wade. "Recent World Health Organisation recommendations cite HbA1c as a method for the diagnosis of diabetes, in addition to more conventional methods of testing blood sugar in a fasted state or after an oral glucose challenge," she said. "There is substantial debate aboutthe use of HbA1c for diagnosis as there are known ethnic variations in the relationship between HbA1c and blood sugar, and the majority of studi...
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