Elevated Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A UK Biobank Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: The role of dysglycaemia as a risk marker for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is uncertain. We investigated the relationship between glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and incident PDAC using a retrospective cohort study within the UK Biobank. Methods: A study involving 499,804 participants from the UK Biobank study was undertaken. Participants were stratified by diabetes mellitus (DM) status, and then by HbA1c values p = 0.002); and was 8.55 (4.58–15.99, p < 0.001) for HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol. The association between baseline HbA1c and incident PDAC attenuated with increasing duration of time of follow-up to PDAC diagnosis. Conclusions: Dysglycaemia detected by elevated HbA1c is associated with an increased risk of PDAC. The strength of the association between elevated HbA1c and incident PDAC is inversely proportional to the time from detecting dysglycaemia but remains significant for at least 60 months following HbA1c testing.

Keywords

• pancreatic
• adenocarcinoma
• PDAC
• diabetes
• NODM
• HbA1c