•  
  •  
 

THE INFLUENCE OF BODY WEIGHT ON HBA1C WHEN PREDICTING DIABETES IN ACTIVE OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Elevated blood glucose leads to diabetes and is the eighth leading cause of mortality in the United States (USA) and has a greater prevalence in African Americans than other USA populations. Glycosylated glucose (HbA1c) is an assessment of the stability of glucose over a time with a value less than 5.7 m/mol% normal and a value greater than 6.5m/mol% considered diabetic. Diabetes and elevated blood glucose can be controlled with lifestyle choices such as weight control, exercise, and diet. METHODS: Thirty-seven volunteers (25 exercises and 12 non-exercisers) 55 years of age and older from the same recreational center signed institutional consent forms and attended an assessment coordinated with a senior health risk program. They were evaluated with a lifestyle questionnaire and for blood variables including HbA1c at the beginning and conclusion of the program. HbA1c values were evaluated for differences between the groups with an independent t-tests. RESULTS: The non-exercisers were heavier (90.6 ± 26.6 kg: p <0.05) than the exercisers (81.8 ± 15.3 kg p< 0.05). HbA1c values between the groups were not different (Non-exercisers 5.5 ± 0.46 and exercisers 5.7 ± 0.63 m/mol%: p >0.05) even though the non-exercisers were 10.8% heavier that exercisers.The exercisers were prediabetic as their HbA1c mean was 5.7 m/mol%. The age of the participants also was not different (p> 0.05). These results suggest that weight was not a factor that influenced HbA1c in these active older populations. Although further research is warranted on this topic, these data indicate that HbA1c would not be an effective indicator of diabetes in this older active group of urban adults.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS