Oxfordshire Children’s Diabetes Service
Children’s Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU
Horton Hospital, Banbury OX16 9AL
What does your HbA1c mean?
This is the name given to the finger prick blood test that you do each time you come to clinic.
It gives you an overview of what your blood glucose has been over the past 2 to 3 months.
Everybody with diabetes does a regular HbA1c as it gives us all more information and helps
us know how to help.
Haemoglobin is part of the red blood cell and carries oxygen to the cells in the body. During
the life time of a red blood cell (approximately 120 days), glucose flowing in the blood sticks
to the haemoglobin.
The red blood cells are slowly being replaced all the time and the HbA1c will, therefore, show
how much glucose has been flowing in the blood stream on average for the past 8-12 weeks.
This will change every couple of months and so needs to be repeated every time you come
to clinic.
If your blood glucose levels are mostly high, your HbA1c will be high.
The connection between blood glucose (BG) numbers and your HbA1c number is shown
here -
Please email any comments you may have about this document to: Mary.Cheeseman@ouh.nhs.uk
Paediatric Diabetes Team, October 2015
Review October 2018
2
HbA1c is just another number (like blood glucose levels). It is an important
number as it helps you, and us, work out the direction of travel with your
diabetes and whether any changes need to be made.
An HbA1c at or near the target level will lower your risk of long-term problems
from your diabetes.
This table shows the action you may need to take depending on your HbA1c levels HbA1c value (mmol/mol)
less than 50
50 to 54
55 to 64
65 to 79
80 to 99
100 or more
Ideal ‘target’ value.
On track and only small changes needed.
Higher than ideal; diabetes complication risk increases above 55
mmol/mol, so changes need to be made to direction.
Some action needed immediately - speak to your nurse
regularly, at least once a month.
Worrying - needs immediate action, frequent review and may
need hospital admission.
Very worrying - hospital admission needed to get back on track
again.
Please email any comments you may have about this document to: Mary.Cheeseman@ouh.nhs.uk
Paediatric Diabetes Team, October 2015
Review October 2018