Diabetes diagnoses not always reliable in African Americans

These are the results of comparing 82 studies of which more than 160,000 volunteers have participated

The mutation of a protein affects the correct detection of glucose rates.

A1C (HBA1C) hemoglobin levels, or "glyd hemoglobin", in a person depending on blood glucose levels and the characteristics of red blood cells, this makes it an essential tool to diagnose and control diabetes.

In a recent study published in PLOS Medicine, more than 200 scientists around the world have joined to study HBA1C genetics.

Those responsible, led by James Meigs and Inês Barroso, report that they have identified 60 genetic variants (42 new and 18 previously known) that influence HBA1C measurements, as well as the ability of this test to diagnose diabetes.Genetic variants include one that could lead to African Americans to be subdiagnosed with DM2.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed genetic variants of HBA1C levels in 160,000 people without diabetes of European, African and Asian ancestry that had participated in 82 separate studies worldwide.Of these, a monitoring of some 33,000 volunteers were monitored to determine if they were subsequently diagnosed with diabetes.

People with more variants that affect HBA1C levels were more likely, over time, to develop diabetes.The impact of genetic variants on HBA1C levels was greater in African ancestry, and the difference could be explained by the variation in the G6PD gene (which encodes an enzyme related to the life of red blood cells) that was associated with levelsLower HBA1C.11% of people of African -American descent had at least one copy of this genetic variation, which can decrease HBA1C levels despite the high levels of blood glucose.

"The HBA1C analysis remains an adequate diagnostic test for most people of various genetic history - explain the authors -.However, in one in ten African -American men who carry this variant of G6PD and in one in every one hundred African -American women, the test would not be effective.So we recommend investigating the possible benefits of the detection of the G6PD genotype together with the HBA1C ”.