Salivary Glycated Albumin simple and reliable method for evaluating glycemic control, suggests study

This exploratory research demonstrated that salivary GA levels measured by this method were accurate and could potentially replace traditional blood GA measurements.

"The development of a home-based salivary GA testing system is anticipated, which may alleviate the burden and complications faced by individuals with diabetes mellitus, ultimately enhancing their quality of life," the researchers wrote.

Monitoring diabetes-related biomarkers is essential for evaluating glycemic control. Traditional methods such as finger-prick blood glucose tests, HbA1c measurements, and blood glycated albumin assessments are invasive. To address this, Naoto Kubota, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, and colleagues developed a non-invasive technique for measuring salivary GA with high accuracy using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

For this purpose, the researchers recruited participants with diabetes mellitus who were admitted to The University of Tokyo Hospital. Blood and saliva samples were collected at three-time points: fasting and 2 hours postprandial at admission, and fasting at discharge. Following partial purification with an antibody-based column, the samples underwent glycated albumin (GA) measurement using the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.

The study led to the following findings:

• Among the 56 participants with diabetes mellitus enrolled in the study, there was a strong correlation between glycated albumin levels measured in blood and saliva across the three specified time points.
• The analysis showed an R² value of 0.985 (n=45) at fasting, 0.973 (n=48) at 2 hours postprandial, and 0.979 (n=51) at fasting upon discharge.
• Multiple regression analysis indicated these associations remained significant even after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), and nephropathy stage.

In conclusion, the findings indicate that salivary glycated albumin levels measured in fasting and postprandial samples obtained at admission, and fasting samples taken at discharge, exhibited a strong correlation with blood GA levels measured at the same time points. Notably, these correlations remained significant even after adjusting for age, BMI, and the stage of diabetic nephropathy. The study successfully developed and employed a novel method for measuring salivary GA levels.

"Therefore, salivary glycated albumin has the potential to serve as a simple and reliable method for evaluating glycemic control," the researchers wrote.

Reference:

Aihara, M., Yano, K., Irie, T., Nishi, M., Yachiku, K., Minoura, I., Sekimizu, K., Sakurai, Y., Kadowaki, T., Yamauchi, T., & Kubota, N. (2024). Salivary glycated albumin could be as reliable a marker of glycemic control as blood glycated albumin in people with diabetes. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 111903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111903