Identification of Hemoglobin Variants Prevalent in China and Their Effects on Hemoglobin A1c Measurements.

<bold>Objectives: </bold>We aimed to evaluate the effects of hemoglobin (Hb) variants prevalent in China on HbA1c measurements and to identify them during HbA1c measurements.<bold>Methods: </bold>We evaluated a cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method (Bio-Rad D-100), a capillary electrophoresis (CE) method (Capillarys 3 TERA), an immunoassay (Cobas c501), and a boronate affinity method (Premier Hb9210, as a comparative method) for HbA1c measurements in the presence of Hb variants prevalent in China.<bold>Results: </bold>The Bio-Rad D-100 and Capillarys 3 TERA gave specific retention times and numeric migration positions for each Hb variant, respectively, showing excellent interindividual reproducibility. All methods showed statistically significant differences (P < .01) for several variants. Clinically significant effects were observed for the Bio-Rad D-100 (Hb New York and Hb J-Bangkok), Capillarys 3 TERA (Hb New York and Hb J-Bangkok), and Cobas c501 (Hb New York). Among 297 samples with Hb variants, there were 75 (25.3%) unacceptable results for Bio-Rad D-100, 28 (9.4%) for Capillarys 3 TERA, and 19 (6.4%) for Cobas c501 compared with the results from Premier Hb9210.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Some Hb variants prevalent in China affect HbA1c measurements. The HPLC retention time and CE migration position can aid in the presumptive identification of Hb variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]