Abstract
Objective Among individuals at high risk for diabetes identified through a population survey, we performed an intervention study with basic lifestyle advice aiming to prevent diabetes.
Research design and methods Among 50 806 participants in the HUNT3 Survey (2006-2008), 5297 individuals with Finnish Diabetes Risc Score (FINDRISC >= 15 were invited to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and an education session with lifestyle advice, and 2634 (49.7%) attended. Among them, 2380 people without diabetes were included in the prevention study with repeated examinations and education sessions after 6, 12, and 24 months. We examined participation, diabetes incidence, glycemia, and adiposity during follow-up.
Results Of 2380 participants, 1212 (50.9%) participated in >= 3 of the four examinations. Diabetes was detected in 3.5%, 3.1%, and 4.0% of individuals at the 6-month, 12-month, and 24-month examinations, respectively, indicating a 10.3% 2-year diabetes incidence. Mean (95% CI) increases from baseline to 2-year follow-up were 0.30 (0.29 to 0.32) percentage points (3.3 (3.2 to 3.5) mmol/mol) for Hemoglobin A 1c, 0.13 (0.10 to 0.16) mmol/L for fasting serum-glucose, 0.46 (0.36 to 0.56) mmol/L for 2-hour OGTT s-glucose, 0.30 (0.19 to 0.40) kg/m(2) forbody mass index (BMI) (all p< 0.001) and -0.5 (-0.9 to -0.2) cm for waist circumference (p= 0.004), with broadly similar estimates by baseline age, sex, education, depressive symptoms, BMI, physical activity, and family history of diabetes. Only 206 (8.7%) participants had evidence of > 5% weight loss during follow-up; their fasting and 2-hour s-glucose did not increase, and HbA 1c increased less than in other participants.
Conclusion Basic lifestyle advice given to high-risk individuals during three group sessions with 6-month intervals was not effective in reducing 2-year diabetes risk.