Glucose Control Using 1,5-AG Testing

Nearly half of the adult population, 114 million Americans, are diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes, making it one of the most important public and personal health problems. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in America and a contributing factor in many more deaths and lost days of productivity. Its complications include vascular disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke and dementia. The cost of diabetes care and its complications lead to $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity. With an over 2-fold increase in diabetes prevalence in the past two decades and an estimated 1.5 million new cases expected annually, it is clinically and economically critical for this condition to be managed appropriately.

Diabetes treatment programs focus on controlling hyperglycemia (random glucose > 200 mg/dL) without causing hypoglycemia (glucose < 70 mg/dL). Glucose control is determined in a number of ways in current clinical practice. Immediate and fasting blood sugars are determined in routine chemistry tests. The standard measure of long-term diabetes control, HbA1c testing, provides a reliable reading of average blood glucose levels over a 2-3-month period. In patients with high HbA1c levels, HbA1c measurement guides management decisions and helps the clinician bring the long-term glucose levels under control in poorly controlled diabetic patients. Random blood sugars and HbA1c is limited in that they do not reflect glycemic control in intervals greater than the past few hours and 2-3 months. In particular, they do not provide an indication of frequent, temporary increases in blood glucose, termed glycemic excursions, which have been independently associated with several health complications. Since it takes months for HbA1c levels to stabilize, HbA1c levels are also not helpful for patients starting medication or changing drug therapy.

1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG) is a molecule found in the blood and is a validated indicator of glucose excursions and short-term (1-2 weeks) hyperglycemia. In healthy patients without diabetes, or those with well-controlled diabetes, 1,5-AG is maintained at a steady state in the blood. However, during glycemic excursions, the molecule is actively purged from the body through the urine. Cleared by the FDA in 2003, the GlycoMark assay measures 1,5-AG levels in the blood. Low levels of 1,5-AG indicate the presence of potentially harmful glycemic excursion over the last 1 to 2 weeks, which may have been missed during random blood glucose testing and not sensitively detected by HbA1c.

GlycoMark testing provides clinical details on peak glucose levels, daily spikes, and response to drugs, including short term effects, of hypoglycemic agents that are otherwise not available, giving physicians a more complete understanding of their patient's glycemic control. This information may be clinically useful to help physicians make better management decisions, improve diabetes outcomes, avoid complications and reduce unnecessary spending.

This study is a pre-post, two-round randomized controlled study of a nationally representative sample of primary care physicians randomly assigned to a control or intervention arm. Enrolled participants will be asked to care for a sample of CPV® simulated patients. The simulated patients are adults aged 18-75 who present with diabetes, different levels of glycemic control and various co-morbidities. Participants randomized into an intervention-arm will receive educational materials and 1,5-AG test results when caring for their patients in round 2. Investigators will assess the participants' ability to identify and address glycemic variability and hyperglycemia and evaluate whether physicians who have access to GlycoMark take steps to optimize glycemic control and reduce unnecessary resource utilization.