One-Year Results of a Community-Based Translation of the Diabetes Prevention Program

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Although the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (FDPS) demonstrated that weight loss from lifestyle change reduces type 2 diabetes incidence in patients with prediabetes, the translation into community settings has been difficult. The objective of this study is to report the first-year results of a community-based translation of the DPP lifestyle weight loss (LWL) intervention on fasting glucose, insulin resistance, and adiposity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We randomly assigned 301 overweight and obese volunteers (BMI 25–40 kg/m2) with fasting blood glucose values between 95 and 125 mg/dL to a group-based translation of the DPP LWL intervention administered through a diabetes education program (DEP) and delivered by community health workers (CHWs) or to an enhanced usual-care condition. CHWs were volunteers with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. A total of 42.5% of participants were male, mean age was 57.9 years, 26% were of a race/ethnicity other than white, and 80% reported having an education beyond high school. The primary outcome is mean fasting glucose over 12 months of follow-up, adjusting for baseline glucose. RESULTS Compared with usual-care participants, LWL intervention participants experienced significantly greater decreases in blood glucose (−4.3 vs. −0.4 mg/dL; P < 0.001), insulin (−6.5 vs. −2.7 μU/mL; P < 0.001), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (−1.9 vs. −0.8; P < 0.001), weight (−7.1 vs. −1.4 kg; P < 0.001), BMI (−2.1 vs. −0.3 kg/m2; P < 0.001), and waist circumference (−5.9 vs. −0.8 cm; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This translation of the DPP intervention conducted in community settings, administered through a DEP, and delivered by CHWs holds great promise for the prevention of diabetes by significantly decreasing glucose, insulin, and adiposity.