PURPOSES: To estimate plasma 1,5-anhydroglucitol (AG) in diabetic (DM) and non-DM patients in a Chinese population, and to compare it with fructosamine, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and fasting glucose (FG) levels. METHODS: Case-control study on the significance of AG conducted in a medical center of southern Taiwan, including 356 inpatients (300 non-DM and 56 type 2 DM). Plasma AG, fructosamine, HbA1c and FG were measured on the second day of admission and only those with normal values (except glucose) were enrolled. Glycemic markers of the non-DM patients were examined only once whereas DM patients were sequentially sampled over 3 months. RESULTS: Mean plasma AG levels were lower in DM than in non-DM patients (4.02±2.96 vs 26.68±11.33µg/ml, P<0.001), and lower in non-DM females than males (22.90±9.51 vs 29.45±11.7µg/ml, P<0.05). AG showed a good correlation with FG. Mean plasma AG were inversely correlated with FG, fructosamine and HbA1c in DM patients and worked as well as other glycemic markers in detecting short-term changes in glycemic control. AG levels of DM patients demonstrated no difference with or without smoking, hypertension, micro- and macro-vascular complications. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend clinical application of plasma AG in long-standing DM patients for short-term detection and monitoring glycemic condition.
