The clinical usefulness of serum fructosamine and HbAlc in patients with NIDDM.

To evaluate the clinical values of serum fructosamine and HbAlc, serum fructosamine and HbAlc were assessed in 50 normal controls and 36 patients with NIDDM (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus). And we studied 10 patients selected at random among the 36 patients with NIDDM. The values of serum fructosamine and HbAlc in controls were 2.1 mmol/L and 5.3%, respectively. The levels of serum fructosamine and HbAlc were significantly higher in NIDDM patients (3.27 mmol/L and 8.8%, respectively, p less than 0.005) compared with those in the controls. The serum fructosamine was significantly correlated with fasting plasma glucose and HbAlc (r = 0.78, p less than 0.78, p less than 0.001; r = 0.76, p less than 0.005, respectively). Also, in retrograde study, serum fructosamine concentration had a significant correlation to fasting plasma glucose determined 2 weeks before (r = 0.72, p less than 0.002), and 4 weeks before (r = 0.54, p less than 0.005). It is concluded that serum fructosamine measurement may be useful in monitoring short-term control of plasma glucose in patients with NIDDM.