Can a glycated hair protein assay be a non-invasive indicator of blood glucose control? - Assessing the influence of sample mass and chemical hair treatments

Abstract

Abstract Aims: To determine if glycated protein found in scalp hair can predict blood glucose control as characterised by HbA1c. Also, to investigate cosmetic hair treatments' effect and hair sample mass's effect on the assay. Materials and Methods: 192 participants were included in this study. Anthropometrics, medical history and about 50 strands of hair, 4 cm long, proximal to the scalp, were collected. The concentration of fructosamine in hair was determined using the Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA) method with a fructose calibration curve. The strength of the correlation between HbA1c and fructosamine for hair samples with and without hair treatments was assessed using Pearson's R. Results: For the samples with no reported hair treatments, there was a statistically positive association between HbA1c and fructosamine when the sample mass ranged between 40mg to 120 mg. A high positive association, r(28) = 0.647, p = <0.001 was observed when hair samples greater than 70mg were used. Conclusions: Hair glycation can be a robust, non-invasive indicator of blood glucose control in optimum settings. However, sample collection limitations, lengthy assays, and the influence of cosmetic treatments limit its usefulness as a screening tool for diabetes.