Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level
Published on: January 19, 2024
Effect of iron deficiency anemia on hemoglobin A1c levels
Nitin Sinha1, T K Mishra, Tejinder Singh
1Department of Medicine, Lok Nayak Hospital, Delhi, India.
Background:
Iron deficiency anemia is the most common form of anemia in India. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is used in diabetic patients as an index of glycemic control reflecting glucose levels of the previous 3 months. Like blood sugar levels, HbA1c levels are also affected by the presence of variant hemoglobins, hemolytic anemias, nutritional anemias, uremia, pregnancy, and acute blood loss. However, reports on the effects of iron deficiency anemia on HbA1c levels are inconsistent. We conducted a study to analyze the effects of iron deficiency anemia on HbA1c levels and to assess whether treatment of iron deficiency anemia affects HbA1c levels.
Methods:
Fifty patients confirmed to have iron deficiency anemia were enrolled in this study. HbA1c and absolute HbA1c levels were measured both at baseline and at 2 months after treatment, and these values were compared with those in the control population.
Results:
The mean baseline HbA1c level in anemic patients (4.6%) was significantly lower than that in the control group (5.5%, P<0.05). A significant increase was observed in the patients' absolute HbA1c levels at 2 months after treatment (0.29 g/dL vs. 0.73 g/dL, P<0.01). There was a significant difference between the baseline values of patients and controls (0.29 g/dL vs. 0.74 g/dL, P<0.01).
Conclusions:
In contrast to the observations of previous studies, ours showed that HbA1c levels and absolute HbA1c levels increased with treatment of iron deficiency anemia. This could be attributable to nutritional deficiency and/or certain unknown variables. Further studies are warranted.
Related Concept Videos
Disorders of Erythrocytes
Erythrocyte disorders can be broadly categorized into two main types: anemic and polycythemic conditions.
A low oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood due to the loss, lower production, or destruction of erythrocytes is termed anemia. Hemorrhagic anemia, for example, occurs when bleeding from an external wound or internal ulcer reduces erythrocyte counts.
On the other...
Factors Affecting Erythropoiesis
Several factors influence the erythrocyte production rate, with tissue oxygen level being among the most critical. Intense exercise or high altitudes can cause tissue hypoxia, which triggers the kidneys to release more erythropoietin (EPO) into the bloodstream.
EPO then...
Hyperglycemia
The Periodic Table and Organismal Elements
Hemoglobin
When all four heme groups are bound to oxygen, the resulting molecule is called oxyhemoglobin. As a result, arterial blood...
Hypoglycemia