Utility of Serum Fructosamine as a Measure of Glycemia in Elderly Diabetic Patients

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Glycemic profile has traditionally been with the use of HbAlc over a 2 to 4 month period. Recently, serum fructosamine is highly sensitive to acute metabolic deterioration(period 2 to 3 weeks), and is suitable for automation, allowing multiple assays with minimal effort. In some report, despite evidence suggesting a reduction in serum albumin level with increasing age, serum fructosamine was strongly correlated with HbAlc in elderly diabetic patients. This study was conducted to define the correlation between fructosamine and other parameters in elderly diabetic patients. METHODS: The study group consisted of 56 elderly patients(age range 66-85 years, group A) and 58 adult patients(age range 18-64 years, group B), who were stable over recent 2 months in fasting glucose values and serum albumin levels. Fructosamine was measured in 114 diabetic patients. The measured levels were related to HbAlc and fructosamine/albumin index(FAI). RESULTS: 1) There was significant correlation between HbAlc and fructosamine in all diabetic patients(r=0.705, p=0.0001). The correlation between HbAlc and fructosamine was stronger in group A than in group B [group A r=0.831, group B r=0.367, p=0.0001](p<0.05). 2) The correlation between HbAlc and FAI was significantly stronger compared to that between HbAlc and fructosamine in elderly diabetic patients(p<0.05). 3) Glycation ratio provides a vector-like insight into the recent trend of glycemia, and Glycation ratio was stable in all diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that correlation between HbAlc and fructosamine in elderly daibetic patients was significantly lower in adult diabetic patients. Further studies are needed to determine the ultimate values of this test in the clinical management of elderly patient with diabetes.