Brief Report

Diagnostic cut-off value of haemoglobin A1c for diabetes mellitus in Harare, Zimbabwe

Chido W. Bvumbi, Vinie Kouamou, Ngalulawa Kone, Trust Zaranyika, Lloyd Bowora, Hilda T. Matarira, Raylton P. Chikwati
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine | Vol 13, No 1 | a2373 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v13i1.2373 | © 2024 Chido W. Bvumbi, Vinie Kouamou, Ngalulawa Kone, Trust Zaranyika, Lloyd Bowora, Hilda T. Matarira, Raylton P. Chikwati | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 15 November 2023 | Published: 23 April 2024

About the author(s)

Chido W. Bvumbi, Department of Laboratory Diagnostic and Investigative Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
Vinie Kouamou, Department of Primary Care and Health Sciences, Internal Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe
Ngalulawa Kone, Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Department of Chemical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
Trust Zaranyika, Department of Primary Care and Health Sciences, Internal Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
Lloyd Bowora, Department of Laboratory Diagnostic and Investigative Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
Hilda T. Matarira, Department of Laboratory Diagnostic and Investigative Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
Raylton P. Chikwati, Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

Very little is known about the diagnostic performance of the American Diabetes Association glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) cut-off of 6.5% in resource-limited settings. This study, conducted between February 2023 and May 2023, aimed to determine the optimal HbA1c cut-off for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus by measuring HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose levels in 120 adults attending care at a tertiary hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. The optimal HbA1c cut-off was 6.1% and glucose levels were strongly correlated with HbA1c values. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was higher (28.3%) at our derived HbA1c cut-off than with the American Diabetes Association criterion (21.6%).

What this study adds: This study highlights the need for population-specific cut-off HbA1c values in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus


Keywords

glycated haemoglobin; diabetes mellitus; fasting plasma glucose; receiver operating characteristics curves; Zimbabwe

Metrics

Total abstract views: 1489
Total article views: 1256


Crossref Citations

No related citations found.