August 24, 2001
People at high risk for type 2 diabetes can sharply lower their chances of getting the disease with diet and exercise according to a national study involving researchers at the School of Medicine. Treatment with the oral drug metformin also reduced the risk in this population.
The study, called Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), was the largest study to date to evaluate whether lifestyle changes or medication can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. The results were presented Aug. 8 at a press conference at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
"In view of the rapidly rising rates of obesity and diabetes in America, this good news couldn't have come at a better time," said Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "So many of our health problems can be avoided through diet, exercise and making sure we take care of ourselves. By promoting healthy lifestyles, we can improve the quality of life for all Americans and reduce health care costs dramatically."
Neil H. White, M.D., professor of pediatrics and medicine, was the principal investigator of the medical school's study site. The St. Louis site included 179 of the study's 3,234 people with impaired glucose tolerance, a condition that often precedes diabetes. On the advice of the DPP's external data monitoring board, the trial ended a year early because the data had clearly answered the main research questions.
Participants randomly assigned to intensive lifestyle intervention reduced their risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. On average, this group maintained their physical activity at 30 minutes per day, usually with walking or other moderate intensity exercise, and lost 5-7 percent of their body weight. Participants randomized to treatment with metformin reduced their risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 31 percent.
Diabetes afflicts more than 16 million people in the United States. It is the main cause of kidney failure, limb amputations and new onset blindness in adults and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases.
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