2. HbA1c targets recommended by different international guidelines ª.

Country	Guideline	Year	Hba1c targets in adults	Level of Evidence (According to Oxford Centre for Evidence‐based Medicine ‐ Levels of Evidence (March 2009))
Australia	National Health and Medical Research Council/Diabetes Australia	2009	≤ 7%	Grade A
	Australian Paediatric Endocrine Group/ Australian Diabetes Society	2011	≤ 7%	Grade D
UK	National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)   ‐ Managing type 1 DM diabetes in adults   ‐ Blood glucose lowering therapy for type 2 DM	2012    2012	≤ 7.5% if increased arterial risk ≤ 6.5%  Between 6.5% and 7.5%	Grade B   Not reported    Not reported
	Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)  ‐ Type 1  Diabetes  ‐ Type 2 Diabetes	2010	No set figure  < 7%	Not reported Grade A
USA	National Clearinghouse	2012	< 7% or individualize to a goal of < 8%	Grade B
	American Diabetes Association	2012	≤ 7% or individualise to a goal: < 6.5% < 8%	Grade B Grade C Grade B
	American  Association of Clinical Endocrinologists	2011	≤ 6.5%	Grade D
International Diabetes Federation (IDF)	International Diabetes Federation ‐ Global Guideline  for type 2 Diabetes	2012	< 7.0%	U/K
Canada	Canadian Diabetes Association	2008	≤ 7% ≤ 6.5% (may be considered to lower risk of nephropathy further)	Grade C, Level 3 Grade A, Level 1A
Europe	European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and American Diabetes Association (ADA)	2012	< 7% or individualise to a goal of: 6% to 6.5% (patients with short disease, duration, long life expectancy, no significant CVD) 7.5% to8.0% (history of severe hypoglycaemia, limited life expectancy, advanced complications, extensive comorbid conditions and those in whom the target is difficult to attain)	Not reported
New Zealand	New Zealand Group Guidelines	2003	≤ 7%	Grade D

ª Adapted from Australian Electronic Therapeutic Guidelines (Electronic Therapeutic Guidelines Australia 2012)

Abbreviations

CVD = cerebrovascular disease
 DM = diabetes mellitus
 U/K = unknown