The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists advises against relying heavily on hemoglobin A1C testing.
"The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists say A1C is not a great thing to use." (said at 1:01:17)
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) does not advise against using hemoglobin A1C, but rather uses it extensively as a central clinical tool with specific treatment targets (typically recommending an A1C goal of ≤6.5% for most patients). While AACE guidelines and consensus statements have highlighted specific limitations of A1C—such as reduced sensitivity for diagnosing prediabetes compared to oral glucose tolerance tests, limitations in individuals with altered red blood cell turnover, and the inability of A1C to capture acute glycemic variability or hypoglycemia—they recommend A1C alongside complementary measures (such as continuous glucose monitoring and time-in-range), rather than dismissing it as 'not a great thing to use.'
- contradicts: Comparison of the diabetes guidelines from the ADA/EASD and the AACE/ACE. (Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhA 2017)
"Target A1C levels are higher in the ADA/EASD guideline (≤7.0%) compared with the AACE/ACE guideline (≤6.5%), although both statements indicate that targets should be adjusted to specific clinical scenarios based on safety." (abstract, results)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Standardizing Clinically Meaningful Outcome Measures Beyond HbA 1c for Type 1 Diabetes: A … (Diabetes care 2017)
"The Steering Committee recommends use of the defined clinically meaningful outcomes beyond HbA 1c in the research, development, and evaluation of type 1 diabetes therapies." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)