The value of glycosylated haemoglobin measurements in monitoring diabetic out-patients and correlation with various clinical parameters

448 diabetic out-patients, type I and type II, were followed for 24 months to assess the monitoring efficacy of HbA1. In 349 patients HbA1 was statistically correlated to fasting plasma glucose, clinical-metabolic control, therapy, self-monitoring, age, sex, weight, body mass and surface index. However the latter five parameters lost their statistical significance in a multivariate analysis. Sequential HbA1 and fasting plasma glucose measurements in the same patient showed a variable correlation to the metabolic control, depending on the type of patient. HbA1 had a better relationship to the metabolic control than fasting plasma glucose only in new-diabetics and in unstable badly controlled insulin-dependent patients. In conclusion, the best use of HbA1 is in such patients, provided that the result is available at the clinic.