Volume 29, Issue 1 pp. 1-7
Review Article

The metabolic deterioration that antedates diabetes: personal trajectories of HbA1c and fasting glucose as early indicators and possible triggers for intervention

Rachel Dankner

Corresponding Author

Rachel Dankner

The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel

Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine School of Public Health, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel

Laboratory of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY, USA

Rachel Dankner, The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.

E-mail: [email protected]

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Michael Bergman

Michael Bergman

New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

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Ann Danoff

Ann Danoff

New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

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Sana Qureshi

Sana Qureshi

Laboratory of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY, USA

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Ian Whitford

Ian Whitford

Laboratory of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY, USA

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Nargess Kaviani

Nargess Kaviani

Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Lake Success, NY, USA

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Yevgeniya Dynkevich

Yevgeniya Dynkevich

Queens Long Island Medical Group, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Hicksville, NY, USA

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Jesse Roth

Jesse Roth

Laboratory of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY, USA

Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY, USA

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA

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First published: 22 November 2012
Citations: 8

Summary

HbA1c testing has become an accepted means of diagnosing diabetes as an alternative to blood glucose levels. However, population-based norms of glucose and of HbA1c levels do not enable the detection of diabetes at an early enough stage to thwart complications. Personal trajectories of glucose levels show steep increases a number of years prior to diabetes diagnosis. Here, we hypothesize that a comparable time-dependent deviation in an individual's HbA1c level may be an early manifestation of disease that should prompt lifestyle modifications. We predict that analysis of personal trajectories of glucose and of HbA1c will promote earlier intervention and a greater reduction in disease complications than current standards, which are based on population-based norms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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