Glucose in the human body undergoes a non-enzymatic glycosylation reaction with the N-terminus of serum proteins, 90% of which binds to lysine at position 189 within the serum protein chain to form a polymeric ketamine structure, collectively known as glycosylated serum proteins (GSP), of which more than 90% is glycosylated albumin (GA). Therefore GA can reflect the overall level of GSP. Since the half-life of albumin is 17-19 days, GA is an indicator of the average blood glucose level in the past 2-3 weeks. It has a shorter reflection period than glycated hemoglobin, the “gold standard” of blood glucose testing. Therefore, GA has an advantage over A1c in the confirmation of therapeutic effect and adjustment of clinical dosage. In addition, in many cases of abnormal hemoglobin metabolism, the results of A1c are affected and cannot truly reflect the patient’s blood glucose level, while the results of GA are not affected, such as the blood glucose testing of diabetic nephropathy dialysis patients, anemia patients and pregnant women, etc. Therefore, GA is the preferred indicator for blood glucose monitoring.
Glycosylated hemoglobin mainly reflects the level of blood glucose control of patients in the past 2-3 months, and has a certain role in judging the prognosis. Due to the long half-life of hemoglobin in blood, it can reflect the long-term control index of patients.