Glycated albumin and diabetes mellitus

Background Diabetes is a growing worldwide problem that is strongly associated with atherosclerosis. Screening and intervention for diabetes in the earliest stages are advocated for the prevention of diabetic complications and cardiovascular disease. Scope of review This review gives a background of and discusses the potential clinical utility of glycated albumin (GA) in diabetes. Major conclusions GA is a ketoamine formed via a non-enzymatic glycation reaction of serum albumin and it reflects mean glycemia over two to three weeks. GA can be used for patients with anemia or hemoglobinopathies for whom the clinically measured hemoglobin A1c level may be inaccurate. Because both serum and plasma samples can be used, GA can be analyzed from the same samples as common biological markers. GA is a useful marker for the screening of diabetes in a medical evaluation. It can be also used to determine the effectiveness of treatment before initiating or changing medications for diabetic patients. GA is potentially an atherogenic protein in the development of diabetic atherosclerosis. General significance GA measurement is useful as part of a routine examination to screen for both diabetes and atherosclerosis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.