Does anyone know why 🤔the safe range for blood glucose levels on annual health checks differs between local clinics 🏥and national health checks in Japan?✨‼️
For instance, the safe range for fasting blood glucose at a local clinic is between 60-109 mg/dL, while the national health check considers blood glucose levels between 50-99 mg/dL as safe.
I inquired about this with my local doctor 👩⚕️ but they were unsure about the reason for the difference.
It’s worth noting that the local clinic’s range could mean that individuals with borderline diabetes might not be diagnosed until their national health check.
The safe range for HbA1c also differs.
Local clinic: 4.6~6.2 %
National: ~5.5%
I would appreciate your comments😉
7 comments
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It’s called 健康診断 (けんこうしんだん ,kenkoushindan, annual health check).
Here some detailed info: Anyone who is currently insured in Japan (which under the law should cover 99 percent of people living in Japan) is able make an appointment for annual health check. If you are employed full time and receive kenkou hoken（健康保険）, your company will cover it and usually issue a reminder. Some larger companies even have the health check on a designated day, sending all employees to the same clinic or giving a half-day off to schedule the appointment.
If you’re self-employed or unemployed, you’ll need to make your own appointment through the National Health Insurance program kokumin kenkou hoken（国民健康保険）.
All labs throughout the world differ slightly when it comes to values. As long at you’re within range you’re fine.
The annual health checks are not worth the paper they are printed on, and the doctors carrying them out are the lowest tier of doctor in Japan. Just so you know.
Use these values, which are from a reputable source:
[https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/a1c-test/about/pac-20384643#:~:text=Below%205.7%25%20is%20normal.,two%20separate%20tests%20indicates%20diabetes](https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/a1c-test/about/pac-20384643#:~:text=Below%205.7%25%20is%20normal.,two%20separate%20tests%20indicates%20diabetes).
[https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20371451#:~:text=A%20fasting%20blood%20sugar%20level,separate%20tests%2C%20you%20have%20diabetes](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20371451#:~:text=A%20fasting%20blood%20sugar%20level,separate%20tests%2C%20you%20have%20diabetes).
I would like to get my insulin level checked. Does anyone have experience with this? Can I just show up at a clinic and ask for this? I am pre-diabetic.
What is your intended outcome of this topic?
> Understand whether you are in the correct range?
– Simply take your results from the test and make your assessment based on the range you want to trust – be they from Japanese clinics or your local home country.
> Understand why they have gaps between clinics?
– As noted by others, it depends what the metric is based on and whether they are following recommended levels for indicative testing and diagnosed monitoring. Your numbers will matter more.
Be sure to note the difference of glucose level tested (what is your blood sugar **now**, which can be different for a variety of on-the-day causes) and the HbA1c. In most cases, you’d want to care about the HbA1c for the trend-setting and indicative measurement.