Effects of growth hormone excess on glycated albumin concentrations: Analysis in acromegalic patients.

BACKGROUND

Glycated albumin (GA) does not reflect glycemic control in patients with disorders of albumin metabolism. In the present study, we examined GA concentrations in acromegalic patients with growth hormone (GH) excess.

METHODS

We studied the hormonal status of 29 acromegalic patients (10 patients had diabetes mellitus and the remaining 19 patients were non-diabetic), 20 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 38 non-diabetic subjects matched for age, sex and body mass index.

RESULTS

Serum GA concentrations, but not those of fasting plasma glucose, 2-h post-load plasma glucose and HbA1c, were significantly higher in non-diabetic acromegalic patients compared with non-diabetic control subjects. Serum GA concentrations, but not those of fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c, were significantly higher in diabetic acromegalic patients compared with patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report describing higher GA concentrations in acromegalic patients relative to plasma glucose concentrations. Special care should be taken when evaluating glycemic control using GA because acromegaly is frequently complicated with diabetes mellitus.