Long-Term Protective Effect of Lactation on the Development of Type 2 Diabetes in Women With Recent Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes.diabetesjournals.org: October 15, 2012

Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a high risk of developing postpartum type 2 diabetes. Strategies to prevent postpartum type 2 diabetes are important to reduce the epidemic of diabetes and its societal impact. Breastfeeding was reported to improve early postpartum glucose tolerance and reduce the subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes. To investigate whether breastfeeding influences short- and long-term postpartum diabetes outcomes, women with GDM (n = 304) participating in the prospective German GDM study were followed from delivery for up to 19 years postpartum for diabetes development. All participants were recruited between 1989 and 1999. Postpartum diabetes developed in 147 women and was dependent on the treatment received during pregnancy (insulin vs. diet), BMI, and presence/absence of islet autoantibodies.  Read More

The CardioMetabolic Health Alliance: Improving Quality, Bending the Cost Curve

Blog.cardiosource.org: October 9, 2012

This post is authored by Gary Puckrein, PhD, president and chief executive officer of the National Minority Quality Forum. 

Physicians and the medical community have reached a fork in the road: we need to document that quality and reduced costs are related. By doing so, we hope to offer policymakers a new framework in which to measure the value of medicine. The conjectures:

• An avoidable mortality index can be an indicator of unnecessary acute events (disease, hospitalizations, disability and death) in a population. Such an index may have utility in localizing the performance of our health care system, thus enabling the investigation of gaps in outcomes of care.
• There are signals that avoidable acute events are non-random occurrences. There is a possibility that they manifest at predictable frequencies within clinical and geographic sub-populations, and are sentinels of health care and health status disparities.
• Unnecessary acute events have financial implications. At least one study found that36% of diabetes-related hospitalizations were avoidable. If that percentage holds true for Medicare beneficiaries, the savings could well be over $10 billion per year.
• By reducing unnecessary acute events, we may be able to establish an association between improved quality and bending the cost curve, thereby offering a counterpoint to those who believe reducing provider reimbursements is a desirable cost savings device.

The American College of Cardiology, the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists have joined forces to put our conjectures to the test and have formed theCardioMetabolic Health Alliance. Read more

National Diabetes Prevention Program Funded Organizations

CDC: 10/9/12

CDC awarded $6.75 million in grants under Prevention and Public Health Funds (PPHF) 2012—National Diabetes Prevention Program: Preventing Type 2 Diabetes Among People at High Risk. These funds will expand the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) to help establish a network of structured, evidence-based lifestyle change program designed to prevent type 2 diabetes among people at high risk. Funding was awarded to six organizations on the basis of the number of qualified applicants, the scope of the proposals, and the geographic reach.

Partnerships developed with these awards will help CDC reach large numbers of people with prediabetes(those at high-risk for type 2 diabetes) by expanding the National DPP network of organizations offering the program. Grantees will offer a lifestyle change program consistent with the Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program Standards and Operating Procedures. Funded organizations will provide information to employers about offering the lifestyle change program as a covered health benefit for employees. They will also work with third-party payers, including public and private health insurance companies, to facilitate performance-based reimbursement directly to organizations delivering the lifestyle change program. Read more

The Texas Diabetes Institute/University Health System/Diabetes Education Department Promotes NDEP’s Resources to Help People Make Changes to Live Well

NDEP: Sep 28, 2012

The mission of the Texas Diabetes Institute/University Health System/Diabetes Education Department is to prevent diabetes and its complications through health promotion, patient education, professional training, treatment, and research. Through a comprehensive team of diabetes specialists – family physicians, endocrinologists, renal specialists, orthopedists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, and wound care specialists – the Institute works to promote healthy lifestyles and teach people the skills needed to live with diabetes and avoid serious complications.

Outreach and Promotions

As part of their National Diabetes Month 2011 promotions, the Texas Diabetes Institute used NDEP’s resources to reach minority populations with diabetes – and health care professionals working with patients who have diabetes – with tools and messages to help people make behavior changes to live well. Read more

Public Health Implications of Recommendations to Individualize Glycemic Targets in Adults With Diabetes

Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: systematic review and meta-analysis

Elevated Rates of Diabetes in Pacific Islanders and Asian Subgroups

American Diabetes Association: October 15, 2012

The Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE)