A1C versus Time in Range

A1C is the average of a person’s blood sugars over the past ninety days. The American Diabetes Association recommends that adults with diabetes should have an A1C less than 7%. This translates to an average blood sugar of 154 mg/dL.³

"What is your A1C?"

"Are you happy with your A1C?"

People living with diabetes are often faced with these questions. A1C is an average and does not give the full picture. It does not capture many important variables. It also masks the occurrence and frequency of dangerous highs and lows.

TIR provides additional insights beyond A1C. TIR provides visibility into how much time a person spends in high and low glucose levels throughout the day. It identifies day-to-day changes in blood sugar and helps people see how much time they’re spending in that healthy, feel-good range. People with similar A1C’s, might have very different blood glucose levels.

Time in Range goals

In 2019, an international panel of clinicians, researchers,and people with diabetes met and established these goals.⁷

• Greater than 70% of time should be spent between 70 mg/dL and 180 mg/dL
• Less than 25% of time should be spent higher than 180 mg/dL
• Less than 4% of time should be spent below 70 mg/dL
• Less than 1% of time should be spent below 54 mg/dL