Is 5.2 a Good A1C?
Healthful Vitality | 12/01/2022 | Is 5.2 a Good A1C?
Great accomplishments are made by taking baby steps. Thus, those living with diabetes must gradually try normalizing their blood sugar levels. One should ensure that there is some improvement every three months. In this way, one can gain complete control over diabetes and expect to live close to a healthy life.
What A1C value is healthy or good?
To understand what is good and bad when living with diabetes, it is essential to understand what A1C value is healthy or good.
According to ADA and CDC, a person is living with diabetes if the A1C value is above 6.5% and living with prediabetes if the value is between 5.7% to 6.4%. Any value below 5.7% is normal.
Is 5.2 a good A1C?
It means that 5.2% is a perfect value of A1C. However, one should interpret any values with some caution. Though 5.2% A1C is undoubtedly good for healthy adults, it may not be as good for those living with diabetes. In those living with diabetes, it may indicate very aggressive drug therapy and an increased risk of hypoglycemia.
It means that if the lab test shows these results, they are more than normal. Hence, it would be good to discuss it with a doctor. On the other hand, very low numbers may not essentially indicate good health.
Though these numbers are not very low, it is worth understanding that very low values are also associated with poor health outcomes.
Though these numbers are good, thus much would depend on how well you feel, what drugs you take, and how many medications you use.
For example, if the test shows 5.2% A1C and you feel fatigued most of the time, it may indicate that you are taking more medications than needed and there is a need to reduce the drug dosage. Further, some medications are known to cause hypoglycemia. Thus, in some cases, it may mean that there is a need to change or reduce medications.
However, if you do not have any issues, feel perfectly well, and are a young adult, then these numbers are highly encouraging.
Lifestyle interventions
Further, suppose you are using lifestyle interventions and taking medications. In that case, such figures mean that it is pretty likely that you will be able to live without any medications, and lifestyle interventions like dietary measures and exercise would suffice.
Although numbers matter a lot, it is vital to have an individual approach to diabetes. What may be suitable for most may not be essentially good for some. Similarly, those living with too many comorbidities may not essentially benefit from very strict blood glucose control.
Here lots would also depend on the maximum values recorded for the individual. And is the person is taking insulin or not.
The sudden decline to 5.2 A1C value must be examined
If a person consistently had values above 8% despite the treatment, then the sudden decline to 5.2% must be investigated. Though these are good numbers, as a precaution, they must be treated as a red flag.
Similarly, for those taking insulin, these close-to-perfect numbers must be interpreted with great care. Such numbers say that a person is at an increased risk of hypoglycemia. Generally, when taking insulin, one should try to maintain A1C around 6% when not living with comorbidities and 7% when living with other health disorders. To sum up, 5.2% is an excellent result. Nonetheless, even perfect values must be treated with caution in those living with diabetes for a long.
Related Article: What Does A1c 5.9 Indicate?