Data from: Selective disappearance of individuals with high levels of glycated haemoglobin in a free-living bird

Although disruption of glucose homeostasis is a hallmark of ageing in
humans and laboratory model organisms, we have little information on the
importance of this process in free-living animals. Poor control of blood
glucose levels leads to irreversible protein glycation. Hence, levels of
protein glycation are hypothesized to increase with age and to be
associated with a decline in survival. We tested these predictions by
measuring blood glycated haemoglobin in 274 adult collared flycatchers of
known age and estimating individual probability of recapture in the
following 2 years. Results show a strong decrease in glycated haemoglobin
from age 1 to 5 years and an increase thereafter. Individuals with high
levels of glycated haemoglobin had a lower probability of recapture, even
after controlling for effects of age and dispersal. Altogether, our
findings suggest that poor control of glucose homoeostasis is associated
with lower survival in this free-living bird population, and that the
selective disappearance of individuals with the highest glycation levels
could account for the counterintuitive age-related decline in glycated
haemoglobin in the early age categories.