ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the performances of HbA1c when identifying elevated blood glucose among pre pubertal children, and to provide scientific basis for early screening biomarkers of abnormal blood glucose in children.@*Methods@#A total of 1 208 prepubertal children aged 7 to 10 years old in Xiamen were sampled with the cluster sampling method. Fasting venous blood was drawn to measure the level of HbA1c and FPG. According to American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria, participants were divided into normal group, HbA1c abnormal group, FPG abnormal group and combined abnormal group. Partial correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between HbA1c and FPG. The cutoffs of HbA1c were calculated when FPG was 5.6 mmol/L. Receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to judge the performances of HbA1c while screening abnormal blood glucose.@*Results@#With HbA1c, FPG and the combined indicators as the screening criteria, the prevalence of high blood glucose were 2.2%, 4.0%, and 5.8%, respectively. The partial correlation coefficient of FPG and HbA1c was 0.15( P <0.01), and the correlation coefficient in girls( r =0.22) and non overweight group( r =0.16) were higher. The cutoff of HbA1c was 5.15% if FPG was 5.6 mmol/L. Taking the combined indicator as the reference standard, the AUC of FPG was 0.84 (95% CI =0.79-0.90) and the AUC of HbA1c was 0.69 (95% CI =0.63-0.74).@*Conclusion@#There is a low correlation between HbA1c and FPG in pre pubertal children. The performance of HbA1c is different from FPG when used as the indicator to screen children with abnormal blood glucose. It is recommended to use the combined indicator of HbA1c and FPG to screen abnormal blood glucose in prepubertal children.