Hospital-Community Collaborations to Address Diabetes

It has been well established that minority populations are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes, based on both clinical factors (insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, gestational diabetes, obesity) and social factors (lack of physical activity, and poverty). Much of the burden associated with diabetes could be prevented with diabetes education, and vigilance in monitoring eating patterns and physical activity. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) was a large randomized clinical trial to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in persons at high risk. It provided the most definitive evidence to date of the benefits of modest weight loss and increased physical activity. Overweight participants with impaired glucose tolerance who lost approximately 7% of their initial weight and exercised 150 minutes a week decreased their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% compared to control participants, and by 31% compared with metformin-treated individuals.