The Study
Glycated hemoglobin and red blood cell indices in non-diabetic pregnant women
This study is like taking a single snapshot of 123 pregnant women to see what their blood sugar marker (HbA1c) and red blood cell levels look like at one moment. It can show which things tend to go up or down together, but it can't tell us if one causes the other.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study checks if things about red blood cells affect a common blood sugar test (HbA1c) in pregnant women who don’t have diabetes.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 537 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, the result matters because it shows HbA1c isn’t just about sugar — red blood cell traits can change the result, which could lead to wrong diabetes diagnoses.
- 2Higher hemoglobin (0.174), hematocrit (0.174), and MCHC (0.180) linked to higher HbA1c.
- 3These numbers are small, meaning the link is real but weak.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Clinics and Practice
Year
2017
Authors
A. Abass, Imad R. Musa, D. Rayis, I. Adam, Gasim Gasim I.
Related Content
Claims (6)
Your HbA1c number isn't just about your average blood sugar — it also depends on how long your red blood cells live. The longer they stick around, the more sugar builds up on them, which can raise your HbA1c even if your blood sugar is stable.
In pregnant women who don’t have diabetes, blood traits like hemoglobin and hematocrit can slightly predict their average blood sugar levels — but other traits like MCHC and PDW don’t hold up when we adjust for other factors.
In pregnant women without diabetes, having more hemoglobin in the blood is linked to slightly higher HbA1c levels — a marker usually tied to blood sugar — suggesting that blood cell levels might affect this test even if sugar isn't high.
In pregnant women without diabetes, having more red blood cells might make their blood sugar test results look higher than they really are, even if their actual sugar levels are normal.
In pregnant women who don’t have diabetes, having denser hemoglobin in their red blood cells might be linked to slightly higher blood sugar levels over time.
In pregnant women who don’t have diabetes, things like red blood cell size and volume don’t seem to affect their HbA1c blood test results in any meaningful way.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.