Fructosamine optimal range and reference range
Compiled by Alina Radu, founder of Sera, from the published sources below · Last reviewed November 9, 2026
Sera's bands for Fructosamine:
- Optimal 200 – 250 μmol/L (0.2 – 0.25 mmol/L); sufficient 250 – 285 μmol/L (0.25 – 0.285 mmol/L); out of range below 200 or above 285 μmol/L.
Evidence grade: Published reference interval. A band that primarily reflects a published adult laboratory or population reference interval. It is not necessarily applicable to every assay or laboratory.
At Sera's last range review a change to this band was proposed and held, because the evidence for it was thin, so the band is unchanged. The note below says where it matches published intervals and where it does not.
All units
| Unit | Optimal | Sufficient | Out of range |
|---|---|---|---|
| μmol/L | 200 – 250 | 250 – 285 | below 200 or above 285 |
| mmol/L | 0.2 – 0.25 | 0.25 – 0.285 | below 0.2 or above 0.285 |
What the evidence says
A two-to-three-week window rather than HbA1c's three months, which makes it the better measure where red cell lifespan is abnormal — haemolysis, recent transfusion, pregnancy, chronic kidney disease — and for judging a change made a few weeks ago. It falls with low albumin for reasons unconnected to glucose, so check protein status before reading a low value as improvement. The acceptable band of 200 to 285 μmol/L is the Mayo Clinic Laboratories reference interval, and UK laboratories agree on the upper edge. The optimal upper edge of 250 has no source: in healthy US adults the upper reference limit was 258.
Sources
- FRUCT - Overview: Fructosamine, Serum — Mayo Clinic Laboratories, 2026 · Laboratory / reference-interval sourceReference interval 200 to 285 μmol/L (colorimetric method), reflecting glycaemic control over the previous 1 to 3 weeks. Matches both outer edges of Sera's band. Undated test catalogue page, opened October 2026.
- Fructosamine — North Bristol NHS Trust, Severn Pathology, 2026 · Laboratory / reference-interval sourceSerum reference range 205 to 285 μmol/L; described as occasionally useful where HbA1c is unreliable, for example reduced red cell survival. Supports the upper edge of 285; the lower edge is 5 above Sera's. Undated page, opened October 2026.
- Fructosamine — University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Clinical Biochemistry, 2026 · Laboratory / reference-interval sourceAdult reference range 205 to 285 μmol/L, sourced to Abbott Diagnostics. States fructosamine should not be used in patients with proteinuria because it is lowered by urinary albumin loss. Undated page, opened October 2026.
- Fructosamine — University of Michigan MLabs, 2026 · Laboratory / reference-interval sourceReference range 185 to 285 μmol/L. Same upper edge as Sera; the lower limit is 15 below Sera's 200, so results of 185 to 199 are normal at this laboratory. Undated page, opened October 2026.
- Establishment of Community-Based Reference Intervals for Fructosamine, Glycated Albumin, and 1,5-Anhydroglucitol. — Selvin E, Warren B, He X, Sacks DB, Saenger AK — Clinical Chemistry, 2018 · Peer-reviewed publicationIn 1,799 healthy US adults (ARIC study) the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles for fructosamine were 194.8 and 258.0 μmol/L, and the value equivalent to an HbA1c of 6.5% was 270.2 μmol/L. Supports an upper limit of healthy near 258, not Sera's 250, and shows 285 lies above the diabetes-equivalent value.
What Fructosamine measures
Glycated serum proteins, reflecting average glucose over the previous two to three weeks.
A shorter window than HbA1c, which makes it the more useful measure where red cell lifespan is abnormal — haemolysis, recent transfusion, pregnancy, chronic kidney disease — and for judging a change made a few weeks ago. It falls with low albumin for reasons that have nothing to do with glucose.