No, US Doctors Haven’t Admitted That HbA1c Range Between 7 to 8 Is Normal

We found that diabetes could be diagnosed in a person if the HbA1c value is 6.5 percent or higher.

Fact-Check | The viral claim about US doctors admitting HbA1C normal range as 7 to 8 is misleading.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image of a newspaper clipping is being circulated on social media platforms to claim that doctors in the United States have recently admitted that range of HbA1C between seven and eight is normal.

• The HbA1C test is conducted to monitor blood glucose levels in people.

What else did the claim say?: The text carrying the image further said, "This mean that if the sugar level is 250 then it is normal. Mean of PP and fasting is 250 then you are no more diabetic."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

We received a query about the viral claim on our WhatsApp tipline as well. More archives of several similar claims can be found here and here.

What is the truth?: The claim is misleading. The woman in the newspaper clipping was identified as the first woman editor of the British Medical Journal named Fiona Godlee.

• While Godlee mentioned about how going directly to insulin without tackling lifestyle issue is a medical scam, the said range was not quoted by her.

• Diabetes could be diagnosed in a patient with a HbA1c of 6.5 percent or higher.

Details about HbA1c: According to Diabetes UK, HbA1c is also known as glycated haemoglobin.

• This is made when the glucose in one's body attaches itself to their red blood cells.

• When the body is not able to use the sugar properly, more of it sticks to the blood cells and builds glucose in the blood.

• This, in turn, means that a high HbA1C reflects having too much sugar in their blood.

An ideal level for HBA1C should be 6.5 percent or below.

(Source: Diabetes UK/Screenshot)

What should be the ideal range?: We went through the official website of United States' National Center for Biotechnology Information to seek further information about the range of HbA1c.

• It said that the normal or the non-diabetic range would be below 5.7 percent.

• The prediabetic range would be a value between 5.7 and 6.4 percent.

• Any value equal of 6.5 percent or higher would lead to the diagnosis of diabetes in a patient.

Diabetes could be detected when a value of 6.5 percent or higher is found.

(Source: Nation Center for Biotechnology Information/Screenshot)

A document detailing the guidelines for managing Type 2 diabetes, published by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also shows the same diagnostic criteria.

Those with HbA1c levels higher than 6.5 percent are diagnosed with diabetes.

(Source: ICMR/Altered by The Quint)

What about the newspaper clipping?: We performed a Google Lens search on the photo of the woman seen in the clipping and found a report published by The Economic Times.

• The report was headlined, "Pushing diabetics to take insulin is a medical scam: Fiona Godlee."

• Godlee was asked about Indian people with diabetes being largely dependent on foreign-made insulin. She replied by saying that going straight to insulin instead of tackling lifestyle issues is not the right option.

• She further said, "That is a big worry because insulin is not without its harm and is expensive in India. I think it's a medical scam, an industry scam."

The report was last updated on 20 November 2016.

(Source: ET/Screenshot)

Conclusion: It is evident that doctors in the US have not admitted that range of HbA1C between 7 to 8 is normal.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)