The American Diabetes Association recommends hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing as one basis for identifying diabetes and prediabetes. Setting a specific HbA1c cutoff threshold for prediabetes, which could be used to determine eligibility for interventions to prevent progression to more serious type 2 diabetes, has generated much debate, with at least three different cutoffs recommended by different professional organizations. A new study led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrates that lowering the cutoff increases the health benefits of preventive interventions, although at higher cost. It concludes that a cutoff level of 5.7% would be cost-effective. The research is published in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
