What Are the Normal A1c Levels for Children?

The glycated hemoglobin level, or A1c, measures the extra glucose in a child's blood over the past two to three months. A1c results are expressed as the percentage of the child's hemoglobin molecules that have glucose bound to them.

Identification

• A child without diabetes normally will have an A1c between 4 and 6 percent.

Function

• Insulin is the hormone that helps glucose enter body cells. A child with Type 1 diabetes no longer produces enough natural insulin, so he needs insulin injections. If he receives too little insulin for the glucose he's ingested, his A1c will rise.

Target

• The American Diabetes Association recommends age-specific ranges for A1c in children with diabetes. For those under 6, the goal is 7.5 to 8.5 percent; 6- to 12-year-olds should stay under 8 percent; those 13 to 19 should stay below 7.5 percent.

Considerations

• Since A1c levels vary somewhat depending on which lab does the test, it's important to know your lab's normal range.

Significance

• Clinicians use a table to translate the child's A1c into an average blood glucose level. An A1c of 4 to 6 percent--the range for children without diabetes--indicates blood glucose between 65 and135 grams. If an 8-year-old has an A1c of 8 percent, his average blood glucose is 205. Values above that are too high.