The Best Cut-Off Value for HbA1c as a Screening Tool in Iranian Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a prevalent disorder which increases maternal and fetal complications. The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is a traditional, time -consuming and intensive test which is poorly tolerated by pregnant women. To date, increasing evidence considered HbA1c as a screening tool and reported various cut-off values in different populations. In alignment with existing literature, we determined for the first time, the optimal cut-off value for HbA1c in Iranian women with GDM.
This case-control study was conducted in Valie-Asr hospital between June 2015 and March 2016. A total of 200 pregnant women who were diagnosed with GDM were selected as study cases. For the control group, 200 healthy women were randomly selected. Fasting blood samples were taken for biochemical analysis, and OGTT was done in all participants. Demographic and anthropometric indexes were measured. Performance of the HbA1c test was analyzed by the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, and the sensitivity and specificity for different HbA1c cut-off points were calculated subsequently.
Analysis showed that the mean age (p Our results suggest that pregnant women with HbA1c of ≥ 5.05% should proceed with an OGTT. Further investigations with larger sample size are needed to provide more robust evidence for the diagnostic and screening value of HbA1c in identifying pregnant women with GDM.