A1C to Blood Glucose Chart
Estimated average glucose for A1C values from 4 to 14 per cent, in mg/dL and mmol/L, by the ADAG regression the ADA publishes. The line is a population fit — two people with the same A1C can average 30 mg/dL apart.
Source data and formula checked · How we check
A1C to Blood Glucose Chart reads average glucose straight off a1c, for 16 values from 4 to 14. Every row is computed from the same formula the calculator uses, not measured or copied from another table, so a value between two rows can be worked out the same way. The formula is the one published by Nathan et al..
eAG = 28.7 × A1C − 46.7, from Nathan et al., Diabetes Care 2008.
| A1C (%) | Average glucose | The same in mmol/L |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 68 mg/dL | 3.78 mmol/L |
| 4.5 | 82 mg/dL | 4.58 mmol/L |
| 5 | 97 mg/dL | 5.37 mmol/L |
| 5.5 | 111 mg/dL | 6.17 mmol/L |
| 6 | 125 mg/dL | 6.97 mmol/L |
| 6.5 | 140 mg/dL | 7.76 mmol/L |
| 7 | 154 mg/dL | 8.56 mmol/L |
| 7.5 | 169 mg/dL | 9.35 mmol/L |
| 8 | 183 mg/dL | 10.15 mmol/L |
| 8.5 | 197 mg/dL | 10.95 mmol/L |
| 9 | 212 mg/dL | 11.74 mmol/L |
| 10 | 240 mg/dL | 13.34 mmol/L |
| 11 | 269 mg/dL | 14.93 mmol/L |
| 12 | 298 mg/dL | 16.52 mmol/L |
| 13 | 326 mg/dL | 18.12 mmol/L |
| 14 | 355 mg/dL | 19.71 mmol/L |
Questions people actually ask
- How do I read the A1C to Blood Glucose Chart?
- Find your a1c in the first column and read across. At 4 the average glucose is 68 mg/dL; at 14 it is 355 mg/dL. The table runs from 4 to 14 in 16 rows.
- How much does the average glucose change per row?
- By 14 mg/dL for every 0.5 of a1c, and by the same amount everywhere in the table — the relationship is a straight line, so halfway between two rows is halfway between their two answers. That is what makes reading between the rows safe here.
- What if my a1c is outside the table?
- The chart covers 4 to 14, which is the range people actually look up. Anything above or below goes into the calculator, which takes any figure and shows each step of the working rather than only the result. Open the a1c calculator.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- Every row is computed at build time from the formula published by Nathan et al., by the same code behind the calculator — not transcribed from another table, which is how a rounding error in one chart ends up in twenty.
Need a different number?
The chart covers the common values. For anything between the rows, the a1c calculator takes any figure and shows the working.
Source: Nathan et al. — Translating the A1C assay into estimated average glucose values, Diabetes Care 2008, CDC — all about your A1C