Care.diabetesjournals.org: 8/24/12

The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) reported no racial/ethnic differences in the incidence of diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Therefore, it has been hypothesized that factors associated with racial/ethnic disparities act prior to the development of IGT. Because impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and obesity were also very prevalent in the DPP, we examined IGT, IFG, and obesity as effect modifiers of ethnic disparities in the San Antonio Heart Study.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Participants were 3,015 Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites aged 25–64 years. The median follow-up period was 7.8 years. IGT, IFG, and diabetes were defined by the 2003 American Diabetes Association criteria, and obesity was defined as BMI ≥30 kg/m².  Read more

Tde.sagepub.com: 8/22/12

Purpose To assess Latino adults’ preferences for peer-based diabetes self-management interventions and the acceptability of the church setting for these interventions.

Methods The authors partnered with 2 predominantly Mexican American churches in Chicago and conducted 6 focus groups with 37 adults who had diabetes or had a family member with diabetes. They assessed participant preferences regarding group education and telephone-based one-to-one peer diabetes self-management interventions. Systematic qualitative methods were used to identify the types of programming preferred by participants in the church setting.

Results Participants had a mean (SD) age of 53 (11) years. All participants were Latino, and more than half were born in Mexico (60%). Most participants were female (78%), had finished high school (65%), and had health insurance (57%). Sixty-five percent reported having a diagnosis of diabetes. Many participants believed the group-based and telephone-based one-to-one peer support programs could provide opportunities to share diabetes knowledge. Yet, the majority stated the group education model would offer more opportunity for social interaction and access to people with a range of diabetes experience. Read more

Care.diabetesjournals.org: 8/24/12

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) underestimate their risk of developing severe complications, and they do not always understand the risk communication by their caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an intervention focused on the communication of the absolute 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with T2DM.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A randomized controlled trial was performed in T2DM patients newly referred to the Diabetes Care System (DCS) West-Friesland, a managed-care system in the Netherlands. The intervention group (n = 131) received a six-step CVD risk communication. Control subjects (n = 130) received standard managed care. The primary outcome measure was appropriateness of risk perception (difference between actual CVD risk calculated by the UKPDS risk engine and risk perception). Secondary outcome measures were illness perceptions, attitude and intention to change behavior, satisfaction with the communication, and anxiety and worry about CVD risk. Patients completed questionnaires at baseline, at 2 weeks (immediately after the intervention), and at 12 weeks. Read More

Care.diabetesjournals.org: 8/24/12

To test whether safe and effective glycemic control could be achieved in type 1 diabetes using a bihormonal bionic endocrine pancreas driven by a continuous glucose monitor in experiments lasting more than two days and including six high-carbohydrate meals and exercise as challenges to glycemic control.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Six subjects with type 1 diabetes and no endogenous insulin secretion participated in two 51-h experiments. Blood glucose was managed with a bionic endocrine pancreas controlling subcutaneous delivery of insulin and glucagon with insulin pumps. A partial meal-priming bolus of insulin (0.035 units/kg/meal, then 0.05 units/kg per meal in repeat experiments) was administered at the beginning of each meal (on average 78 ± 12 g of carbohydrates per meal were consumed). Plasma glucose (PG) control was evaluated with a reference quality measurement on venous blood every 15 min. Read more

Nejm.org: August 23, 2012
Weight loss protects against type 2 diabetes but is hard to maintain with behavioral modification alone. In an analysis of data from a nonrandomized, prospective, controlled study, we examined the effects of bariatric surgery on the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

In this analysis, we included 1658 patients who underwent bariatric surgery and 1771 obese matched controls (with matching performed on a group, rather than individual, level). None of the participants had diabetes at baseline. Patients in the bariatric-surgery cohort underwent banding (19%), vertical banded gastroplasty (69%), or gastric bypass (12%); nonrandomized, matched, prospective controls received usual care. Participants were 37 to 60 years of age, and the body-mass index (BMI; the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) was 34 or more in men and 38 or more in women. This analysis focused on the rate of incident type 2 diabetes, which was a prespecified secondary end point in the main study. At the time of this analysis (January 1, 2012), participants had been followed for up to 15 years. Despite matching, some baseline characteristics differed significantly between the groups; the baseline body weight was higher and risk factors were more pronounced in the bariatric-surgery group than in the control group. At 15 years, 36.2% of the original participants had dropped out of the study, and 30.9% had not yet reached the time for their 15-year follow-up examination. Read more