a1c level for diabetes diagnosis
For people without diabetes, the normal range for the hemoglobin A1c test is between 4% and 5.6%. Hemoglobin A1c levels between 5.7% and 6.4% indicate increased risk of diabetes, and levels of 6.5% or higher indicate diabetes. 1 The higher your blood sugar levels, the more hemoglobin you'll have with sugar attached. 2  A normal A1C should be below 5.7 percent. 3  An A1C level between 5.7 and 6.4 percent is considered prediabetes. 4  A level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates you have diabetes. 1 The higher your blood sugar levels, the more hemoglobin you'll have with sugar attached. 2  An A1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates that you have diabetes. 3  An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent indicates prediabetes. 1 The higher your blood sugar levels, the more hemoglobin you'll have with sugar attached. 2  An A1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates that you have diabetes. 3  An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent indicates prediabetes. 4  Below 5.7 is considered normal. The A1C test measures your average blood glucose for the past 2 to 3 months. The advantages of being diagnosed this way are that you don't have to fast or drink anything. 1  Diabetes is diagnosed at an A1C of greater than or equal to 6.5%. The test measures the percentage of glycated hemoglobin, or A1C, in the blood and provides an assessment of blood sugar levels over the previous two to three months. Hemoglobin is a protein on red blood cells that carries oxygen in the blood. The more excess glucose in the blood, the higher the percentage of A1C. Healthy adults without diabetes or prediabetes have an A1C of about 5%. Diabetes patients with very poorly controlled disease can have levels as high as 25%. The A1C test gives you a picture of your average blood glucose (blood sugar) control for the past 2 to 3 months. The results give you a good idea of how well your diabetes treatment plan is working. You usually find out that you have prediabetes when being tested for diabetes. If you have prediabetes, you should be checked for type 2 diabetes every one to two years. Results indicating prediabetes are: 1  An A1C of 5.7% – 6.4%. 2  Fasting blood glucose of 100 – 125 mg/dl. The accuracy of A1C testing for the diagnosis of diabetes was first evaluated using pre-1997 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for a diabetes diagnosis (i.e., OGTT result more than 140 mg per dL [7.8 mmol per L] fasting or more than 200 mg per dL [11.1 mmol per L] at two hours).
6.5 percent or higher