Glycosylated hemoglobin in chronic alcoholics.

Glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb AI) is commonly accepted as a parameter of the last 2-3 months metabolism of the glucides; therefore its growth must be proportionate to the metabolic unbalance [1]. We observed that chronic alcoholics often had significantly increased levels of Hb AI when compared with normal controls, although with a normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); we therefore tried to correlate other metabolic factors with glycosylated hemoglobin: uricemia, triglyceridemia, cholesterolemia and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol.