A1C 5.6%
An A1C of 5.6% is inside the normal range, below 5.7%, with 0.1 percentage points of room under the prediabetes range.
Where 5.6% sits
What an A1C of 5.6% reflects
A1C reflects your average glucose over roughly the past three months, weighted toward the most recent weeks, because it measures sugar attached to red blood cells across their lifespan. An average of about 114 mg/dL produces this value; the day-to-day swings around that average are what it cannot show.
Conditions that change red blood cells, such as anemia, recent blood loss, pregnancy, or kidney disease, can shift A1C without glucose changing, which is one reason labs interpret it alongside other results.
A1C, estimated A1C, and GMI
A lab A1C is measured from blood. An estimated A1C and a GMI are computed from average glucose with published formulas, and the two estimates can each differ from the lab by a few tenths of a percent. If you track your readings, the estimated A1C calculator shows where your average lands.
When to test again
Common practice is a repeat A1C about every three months when numbers are moving or treatment is changing, and every six months when things are steady. Your clinician may reasonably choose a different rhythm for you.
Nearby values
General information, not medical advice. Bands follow the ADA diagnostic criteria; diagnosis is made on laboratory results, usually confirmed on two occasions. See how we calculate.
Keep your readings alongside lab A1C
Keep laboratory A1C results alongside your logged glucose readings and their share in range. Reports withhold GMI and estimated A1C until source and coverage can be validated.