Diagnostic Testing for Diabetes Using HbA1c in the Abu Dhabi Population

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The validity of HbA(1c) as a population diagnostic tool was tested against oral glucose tolerance testing in Abu Dhabi nationals. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The screening tool of HbA(1c) and random glucose was validated against the "gold standard" oral glucose tolerance test according to World Health Organization criteria. RESULTS: The HbA(1c) threshold of 6.4% provided the optimum balance between sensitivity (72.0%) and specificity (84.3%) with positive and negative predictive values of 47.9 and 93.7% and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.78. This threshold compares with a threshold of 6.5% recommended by the International Scientific Committee and American Diabetes Association and of 6.3% in a recent study in China. CONCLUSIONS: This study successfully validates the feasibility and threshold of HbA(1c) for diagnosis of diabetes at the population level in a Middle-Eastern population. This result is a major step in the fight to tackle the increasing burden of diabetes in the United Arab Emirates.