Is GlycA better than hs-CRP?

GlycA and hs-CRP measure different aspects of inflammation and are best viewed as complementary. GlycA is more stable over time and reflects chronic, systemic inflammation, while hs-CRP is more sensitive to short-term, acute inflammatory changes such as recent illness, injury, or strenuous exercise. Many clinicians use both markers together to better understand a patient’s inflammatory risk.

What GlycA level is considered high?

GlycA is typically reported in µmol/L. Although reference ranges can vary slightly by lab, GlycA levels below about 400 µmol/L are often considered low or optimal, 400–500 µmol/L are intermediate, and levels above 500 µmol/L are generally considered high. Higher GlycA levels are associated with increased cardiometabolic risk and chronic inflammatory burden.

Can GlycA be used to monitor therapy or lifestyle changes?

Yes. Because GlycA reflects chronic, systemic inflammation and has relatively low day-to-day variability, it can be used to monitor the impact of anti-inflammatory interventions over time. Improvements in weight, insulin sensitivity, fitness, sleep, and dietary patterns, as well as treatment of underlying inflammatory or autoimmune conditions, are often accompanied by a reduction in GlycA levels.

Does GlycA help identify long-COVID or chronic fatigue-related inflammation?

GlycA does not diagnose long-COVID or chronic fatigue syndromes by itself, but research suggests it is a useful marker of persistent inflammatory load in post-viral conditions. In patients with symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, or exercise intolerance following viral illness, an elevated GlycA level can support the presence of ongoing systemic inflammation and guide further evaluation and management.

Is GlycA included in standard lab panels?

GlycA is not typically included in basic or standard lab panels. It is a specialty test measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology and is available through certain reference laboratories. The Precision Health Reports cardiometabolic assessment includes GlycA as part of its advanced inflammatory and metabolic risk evaluation.

Why is GlycA useful for cardiometabolic risk assessment?

GlycA captures chronic, low-grade inflammation arising from multiple glycosylated acute-phase proteins. Elevated GlycA is associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events, hospitalization, and mortality. When combined with markers such as ApoB, Lp(a), LP-IR, and glucose, GlycA helps identify patients whose cardiometabolic risk is driven in part by persistent inflammation.

How often should GlycA be checked?

There is no universally mandated testing frequency for GlycA, but many clinicians repeat testing every 3–12 months depending on the patient’s risk profile and treatment plan. In higher-risk patients or during periods of active lifestyle or therapeutic intervention, rechecking GlycA can help assess whether chronic inflammatory burden is improving over time.

GlycA: A Biomarker of Chronic Inflammation

A stable blood-based measure that captures systemic, low-grade inflammation linked to cardiometabolic disease, long-COVID, autoimmune activity, and all-cause mortality.

Get Your Own Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment

GlycA is an advanced inflammatory biomarker derived from NMR spectroscopy. Unlike hs-CRP—an acute-phase inflammation marker—GlycA reflects chronic, persistent inflammation originating from the glycosylated proteins of the innate immune system. Research shows GlycA strongly predicts cardiometabolic disease, type 2 diabetes, ASCVD events, hospitalization risk, and mortality, making it one of the most clinically useful long-term inflammation markers available today. Precision Health Reports incorporates GlycA into comprehensive risk assessment because it provides a more reliable view of metabolic and vascular inflammation, especially in patients with metabolic syndrome, obesity, insulin resistance, or chronic fatigue-like syndromes.

What is GlycA?

GlycA (Glycoprotein Acetylation) is a composite biomarker derived from the NMR signal of several acute-phase glycoproteins—primarily α1-acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin, α1-antitrypsin, transferrin, and α1-antichymotrypsin. These proteins circulate at stable baseline levels and rise with chronic inflammatory signaling.

Fast Facts

Reflects chronic, systemic inflammation
More stable day-to-day than hs-CRP (less biological variability)
Predicts cardiometabolic, autoimmune, and infectious disease risk
Not affected by short-term infections the way hs-CRP is

Why GlycA Matters

GlycA adds diagnostic clarity in situations where other inflammation markers may be incomplete or misleading. Elevated GlycA levels correlate with:

Increased ASCVD event risk
Higher likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes
Systemic metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance
Chronic inflammatory conditions (long-COVID, ME/CFS, autoimmune activity)
Higher all-cause mortality in population studies

Because chronic inflammation is central to cardiometabolic disease, GlycA strengthens risk stratification and reveals inflammatory contribution even when traditional biomarkers appear normal.

What Guidelines Say

While no major U.S. guideline (ACC/AHA, ADA) has standardized GlycA as a routine inflammation measure, peer-reviewed evidence consistently supports its value in chronic inflammatory burden and long-term disease prediction. Several organizations, including Cleveland HeartLab and LabCorp, have incorporated GlycA into inflammation panels.

Clinicians increasingly use GlycA as:

A risk-enhancing factor for ASCVD risk discussion
A metabolic inflammation marker to identify cardiometabolic dysfunction
A monitoring tool during lifestyle or pharmacologic therapy (GLP-1s, anti-inflammatories, weight loss interventions)

As research grows, GlycA is becoming a go-to tool for understanding chronic inflammatory load.

How GlycA Is Measured

GlycA is measured using NMR spectroscopy, which quantifies the concentration and glycosylation patterns of circulating glycoproteins. Results are typically reported in µmol/L.

Interpretation is straightforward:

Low / Optimal: < 400 µmol/L
High: 400+ µmol/L

Severity correlates with long-term inflammatory burden and metabolic dysfunction.

What Causes Elevated GlycA?

Common underlying drivers include:

Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome
Obesity and visceral adiposity
Chronic infections or post-viral conditions (including long-COVID)
Autoimmune or rheumatologic diseases
Chronic stress and poor sleep
Inflammatory dietary patterns
Smoking or chronic toxin exposure
Liver dysfunction
Poor cardiorespiratory fitness

GlycA is especially valuable because it identifies persistent inflammatory activity even when hs-CRP is normal or fluctuating.

GlycA vs hs-CRP

GlycA and hs-CRP are often compared, but they measure different physiological phenomena.

GlycA

Highly stable
Reflects chronic inflammation
Strong predictor of metabolic risk
Derived from glycoprotein acetylation signal
Useful in cardiometabolic, infectious, and fatigue-associated inflammation

hs-CRP

Fluctuates significantly
Reflects acute inflammation
Strong predictor of ASCVD risk
Influenced by recent illness, exercise, or injury

Some clinicians benefit from using both, but GlycA is more reliable for chronic inflammation profiling and is what is used exclusively in the Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment.

GlycA in Cardiometabolic Risk

For patients with:

Metabolic syndrome
Prediabetes
Obesity
Elevated ApoB or LDL-P
Elevated LP-IR

GlycA helps determine whether inflammation is contributing to their cardiometabolic trajectory.

Precision Health Reports uses GlycA as part of a comprehensive risk modeling system that incorporates:

ApoB
Lp(a)
LP-IR
GlycA
Fasting glucose
Advanced lipid testing

This allows clinicians to see both lipid-driven and inflammation-driven pathology.

FAQs about GlycA

They’re complementary. GlycA is more stable and reflects long-term inflammation. hs-CRP better captures acute spikes.
Typically >400 µmol/L is high risk for cardiometabolic disease and chronic inflammation.
Yes. It responds to weight loss, improved fitness, insulin sensitivity, and anti-inflammatory interventions.
esearch supports GlycA as a useful marker of persistent inflammatory load seen in post-viral syndromes, but nothing is definitive yet.
No. It is a specialty NMR test offered by limited labs (LabCorp, Cleveland HeartLab). It is included in the Precision Health Reports assessments.