Context:
An article in Hindu | What is the HbA1C test and why is it used to check for diabetes?
Haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) Test:
- Also known as the glycated haemoglobin or glycosylated haemoglobin test
- Most commonly-used tests to diagnose pre-diabetes and diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) and to help manage diabetes
- Working – Measures the percentage of your red blood cells that have sugar-coated, or glycated, haemoglobin
- Haemoglobin – A protein that transports oxygen to all the cells of your body
- Conditions under which test results changes – Kidney or liver failure, severe anaemia or a blood disorder, early or late pregnancy etc.
- Remains one of the best to assess long-term control of diabetes, without a replacement to traditional tests
- Traditional vs. HbA1C test –
| Traditional Method | HbA1C Test |
| Gives blood sugar levels within a specific time frame (Fasting and post-prandial or post-meal) | Reflects your average blood glucose levels over the last 2 to 3 months |
| May fluctuate depending on items in the person’s latest meal and when they last consumed it | Independent of these variables, making it more reliable i.e irrespective of when the latest meal was consumed |
Diabetes:
- A chronic disease
- Occurs – When the body cannot make good use of the insulin pancreas produces or pancreas cannot make insulin any more
- Insulin – A hormone that regulates blood glucose of the body
- Hyperglycaemia – Condition in which the body cannot produce or use insulin effectively leads to raised glucose levels in the blood
- Effects – Long-term high glucose levels leads to damage or failure of various organs and tissues
- Major causes of – Blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation
- Diabetics in India – According to a nationwide study published in 2023 –
- Estimated to have 10.13 crore people with diabetes and 13.6 crore people are pre-diabetic
- Accounts for 17% of all diabetes patients in the world
- Over 35% of Indians suffer from hypertension and nearly 40% from abdominal obesity, both of which are risk factors for diabetes
Types of Diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes –
- A condition in which your immune system destroys insulin-making cells (beta cells)in your pancreas
- Body produces very little or no insulin
- Requires daily supply of insulin to maintain blood glucose levels under control
- Diagnosed in – Children and young people, called as juvenile diabetes
- Symptoms – Excessive excretion of urine (polyuria), thirst (polydipsia), constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes, and fatigue
- Type 2 diabetes –
- Occurs due to the body’s ineffective use of insulin that it produces
- More than 95% of people having diabetes are of type 2 diabetes
- Largely results in excess body weight and physical inactivity
- Symptoms similar to those of type 1 diabetes but are often less marked.
- Gestational diabetes (GDM) –
- A type of diabetes that consists of high blood glucose during pregnancy
- Associated with complications for both mother and child
- Usually disappears after pregnancy
- But once women affected , their children are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements in the context of interventions being undertaken under Anaemia Mukt Bharat Strategy:
1. It provides prophylactic calcium supplementation for pre-school children, adolescents and pregnant women.
2. It runs a campaign for delayed cord clamping at the time of childbirth.
3. It provides for periodic deworming. to children and adolescents.
4. It addresses non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic pockets with special focus on malaria, hemoglobinopathies and fluorosis.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) Only three
(d) All four
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is not correct:
The AMB Strategy does provide for prophylactic iron and folic acid supplementation, which is essential for haemoglobin production, but it doesn’t focus on calcium supplementation.
