Quantifying the effect of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency on glycated hemoglobin values in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Abstract The primary objectives of the study were (a) to confirm that glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency affects HbA1c values in a sample of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and (b) to quantify this effect so that a correction can be applied to the HbA1c values found in current clinical practice. The following data were collected: age, sex, G6PD, number of daily capillary blood glucose measurements, 90-day average blood glucose levels prior to the study, HbA1c, and glycated hemoglobin estimated (eA1c) obtained from blood glucose levels. Patients were divided into three groups based on G6PD values: deficient, intermediate, and nondeficient. In each group, a comparison between the average eA1C and HbA1c values was performed. Then, the difference between the eA1c and HbA1c values of each patient and the mean of the differences (MD) of all patients was calculated within the three groups. Finally, a comparison of the MD values between groups was performed. Seventy-four subjects with T1D were studied. Based on the G6PD value, 33 subjects were deficient, 8 were intermediate, and 33 subjects were nondeficient. In deficient patients, the eA1c values were significantly higher than the HbA1c values. In the other two groups, however, there were no differences. The MD values between the three groups were significantly different. In deficient patients, MD values were higher than those in intermediate and in nondeficient patients. No difference was found between intermediate and nondeficient subjects. Our study confirms that G6PD deficiency affects HbA1c values in children and adolescents with T1D, both in deficient subjects and, to a much lesser extent, in intermediate subjects. In deficient subjects, there is an average reduction in HbA1c attributable to enzyme deficiency of 1.3% (14 mmol/mol) and in intermediate subjects of 0.3% (3 mmol/mol).