If you have diabetes you are probably familiar with the term A1C, the test that it may be helpful to begin thinking about their diabetes control in terms of eAG. …
A new way to help you make the connection between daily and long-term
glycemic control
Introducing estimated Average Glucose eAG, a new way to understand how
well youre managing your diabetes
If you have diabetes you are probably familiar with the term A1C, the test
that measures how well you are doing in managing your diabetes over time
The A1C represents the average glucose in your blood over a 3-4 month
period
We have long known that A1C measures average blood glucose over time, but
there has never been a careful study to show exactly how a given A1C
matches to an average glucose value A major study has just been completed
that tells us how to translate an A1C value into an average glucose value
eAG is directly related to A1C, but uses the same values and units that you
observe when you check your blood glucose with a meter or receive a fasting
glucose value on a lab report
Why talk about eAG?
Though eAG and A1C represent the same thing-the average level of glucose in
the body over time-for many patients, it may be helpful to begin thinking
about their diabetes control in terms of eAG First, its simple: with eAG
you use the same units youre familiar with from
self-monitoring Second,
understanding the relationship between eAG and the values you get in self-
monitoring may help you understand how your daily blood glucose checks
relate to your long-term control
How does eAG relate to my regular meter readings?
If you were to regularly check your blood glucose every morning, and before
meals, you may find that your values are often in the low 100s, and the
average value displayed on your meter might be around 125 But if your
A1C during that same time period was 75, that would translate into an eAG
of 169
Why would the eAG number be so much higher than the average displayed by
the meter?
For most people who self-monitor their diabetes, more glucose checks are
performed more often when blood glucose levels are low than when theyre
high Therefore the average displayed on your meter - in this case a 125 -
is likely to be less than the actual eAG of 169
Using eAG may help facilitate a better understanding of actual daily
control - helping you and your health care provider to make necessary
changes to your diet and physical activity to improve overall diabetes
management
A1C to eAG Conversion Chart
This table shows the relationship
between A1C and estimated average
glucose The units mg/dl are used in the United States; the units mmol/l
are used in much of the rest of the world
|A1C |eAG |
| |mg/dl |
|6 |126 |
|65 |140 |
|7 |154 |
|75 |169 |
|8 |183 |
|85 |197 |
|9 |212 |
|95 |226 |
|10 |240 |
For more information about eAG contact the American Diabetes Association
1-800-DIABETES
wwwdiabetesorg
———————–
An A1C of 7 - the goal for most people with diabetes-is the equivalent of
an eAG of 154 mg/dl
