Search

Objective: To evaluate whether group visits, delivered as routine diabetes care and structured according to a systemic education approach, are more effective than individual consultations in improving metabolic control in non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes.Research Design and Methods: In a randomized controlled clinical trial of 112 patients, 56 patients were allocated to groups of 9 or 10 individuals who participated in group consultations, and 56 patients (considered control subjects) underwent individual visits plus support education. All visits were scheduled every 3 months.Results: After 2 years, HbA(1c) levels were lower in patients seen in groups than in control subjects (P < 0.002). Levels of HDL cholesterol had increased in patients seen in groups but had not increased in control subjects (P = 0.045). BMI (P = 0.06) and fasting triglyceride level (P = 0.053) were lower. Patients participating in group visits had improved knowledge of diabetes (P < 0.001) and quality of life (P < 0.001) and experienced more appropriate health behaviors (P < 0.001). Physicians spent less time seeing 9-10 patients as a group rather than individually, but patients had longer interaction with health care providers.Conclusions: Group consultations may improve metabolic control in the medium term by inducing more appropriate health behaviors. They are feasible in everyday clinical practice without increasing working hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the effect of the prepubertal duration of diabetes on the occurrence of complications in two groups of patients after the same number of years of the disease.Research Design and Methods: This multicenter study enrolled 105 patients aged 16-40.3 years; 53 were prepubertal at diagnosis (aged 0-3) and 52 were pubertal (Tanner stage) and aged 9-14.9. The mean duration of disease was 19.8 and 19.5 years for prepubertal and pubertal patients, respectively. In all patients, retinal photographs were taken and centrally graded. Urinary albumin excretion (UAE; 86 case subjects), blood pressure (BP; 89 case subjects), and lifetime HbA(1c) (72 case subjects) were also evaluated.Results: The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) was higher in pubertal than in prepubertal patients, both for any grade DR (71 vs. 40%, P = 0.002) and for mild or more severe DR (P = 0.005). The prevalence of abnormal UAE was not different in the two groups. Hypertension was found only in three patients, all pubertal at diagnosis. In the small group with moderate-to-severe DR, lifetime HbA(1c) levels, as percentages above the upper normal reference value, were higher (P < 0.01) in prepubertal than in pubertal patients.Conclusions: If diabetes is diagnosed in infants or toddlers and the prepubertal duration of diabetes is very long, the patients seem to be protected against DR. This protection disappears if lifetime metabolic control is bad. Instead, when onset is at puberty, the DR risk is higher and less dependent on metabolic control and may be influenced by age-related factors, such as BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated the perceptions of diabetes care and diabetes in patients followed long-term by group or usual care.Research Design and Methods: Three open questions were administered to 120 patients (43 with T1DM and 77 with T2DM) who had been randomized at least 2 years before to be followed by group care and 121 (41 T1DM and 80 T2DM) who had always been on usual care. The responses were analyzed by propositional analysis, by identifying the focal nuclei, i.e., the terms around which all sentences are organized, and then other predicates, according to their hierarchical relationship to the nuclear proposition. Specific communicative units were arbitrarily classified into three categories: attitudes, empowerment, and locus of control.Results: Patients on group care showed more positive attitudes, higher sense of empowerment, and more internal locus of control than those on usual care. In addition, they expressed a wider and more articulated range of concepts associated with the care received and made less use of medical terminology (P < 0.001, all). Higher HbA(1c) was associated with negative attitudes (P = 0.025) and negative empowerment (P = 0.055).Conclusions: Group treatment reinforces communication and peer identification and may achieve its clinical results by promoting awareness, self-efficacy, positive attitudes toward diabetes and the setting of care, an internal locus of control, and, ultimately, empowerment in the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine risk factors for mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes.Research Design and Methods: Baseline risk factors were measured in the EURODIAB Prospective Cohort Study with 2,787 type 1 diabetic patients (51% men and 49% women) recruited from 16 European countries. Mortality data were collected during a 7-year follow-up.Results: There was an annual mortality rate of 5 per 1,000 person-years in patients with type 1 diabetes (mean age at baseline 33 years, range 15-61 years); of the total 2,787 subjects, 102 died. The final multivariable model contained age at baseline (standardized hazard ratio 1.78 [95% CI 1.44-2.20]), A1C (1.18 [0.95-1.46]), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (1.32 [1.14-1.52]), pulse pressure (1.33 [1.13-1.58]), and non-HDL cholesterol (1.33 [1.12-1.60]) as risk factors for all-cause mortality. Macroalbuminuria (2.39 [1.19-4.78]) and peripheral (1.88 [1.06-3.35]) and autonomic neuropathy (2.40 [1.32-4.36]) were the most important risk markers for mortality. Similar risk factors were found for all-cause, non-cardiovascular disease (CVD), unknown-cause, and CVD mortality.Conclusions: Important risk factors for the increased total and non-CVD mortality in type 1 diabetic patients are age, WHR, pulse pressure, and non-HDL cholesterol. Microvascular complications from macroalbuminuria and peripheral and autonomic neuropathy are strong risk markers for future mortality exceeding the effect of the traditional risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the relationship of nonproliferative and proliferative retinopathy with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence in type 1 diabetic patients and, additionally, the role of cardiovascular risk factors in these associations.Research Design and Methods: This prospective study included 2,237 type 1 diabetic patients from 31 centers in 16 European countries at baseline, aged 15-60 years, who were examined for retinopathy by taking two-field 45 degrees fundus photographs, which were centrally graded. Mortality and cardiovascular morbidity follow-up was assessed 6-8 years after baseline examination according to a standardized protocol.Results: After 7.9 years of follow-up, 64 patients had died and 128 patients had incident CVD. The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of all-cause mortality were 1.45 (95% CI 0.71-2.96) and 4.16 (1.96-8.84) in patients with nonproliferative and proliferative retinopathy at baseline, respectively. Adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors completely obliterated the association with nonproliferative retinopathy, whereas the association with proliferative retinopathy remained twofold increased, although nonsignificant. The age- and sex-adjusted HRs of incident CVD were 1.73 (1.15-2.60) and 2.05 (1.22-3.45) in patients with nonproliferative and proliferative retinopathy, respectively. After adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors, both associations were attenuated and lost statistical significance.Conclusions: This study shows that type 1 diabetic patients with nonproliferative or proliferative retinopathy have an increased risk for all-cause mortality and incident CVD. The presence of cardiovascular risk factors explained the associations to a large extent, except for the associations with proliferative retinopathy, which suggests that other shared mechanisms may be involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A trial was performed to establish whether our group care model for lifestyle intervention in type 2 diabetes can be exported to other clinics.Research Design and Methods: This study was a 4-year, two-armed, multicenter controlled trial in 13 hospital-based diabetes clinics in Italy (current controlled trials no. ISRCTN19509463). A total of 815 non-insulin-treated patients aged <80 years with > or =1 year known diabetes duration were randomized to either group or individual care.Results: After 4 years, patients in group care had lower A1C, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, BMI, and serum creatinine and higher HDL cholesterol (P < 0.001, for all) than control subjects receiving individual care, despite similar pharmacological prescriptions. Health behaviors, quality of life, and knowledge of diabetes had become better in group care patients than in control subjects (P < 0.001, for all).Conclusions: The favorable clinical, cognitive, and psychological outcomes of group care can be reproduced in different clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: By correlating known diabetes duration with the prevalence of retinopathy, more than 10 years have been estimated to lapse between the onset and diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Such calculations, however, assumed a linear model, included stages of retinopathy not specific to diabetes, and allowed 5 years for retinopathy to occur after the onset of diabetes. We calculated the duration of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in outpatients screened for retinopathy in a hospital-based diabetes clinic after correcting these assumptions., Research Design and Methods: Diabetic patients (n = 12,074; 35,545 fundus examinations) were stratified into younger onset (YO; age at onset <30 years) or older onset (OO; age at onset ≥30 years), insulin treated (IT) or not IT (NIT), and with mild/more severe diabetic retinopathy (AnyDR) or moderate/more severe diabetic retinopathy (ModDR). The best-fitting equation correlating known duration among the OO-NIT group with the prevalence of ModDR was used to extrapolate time from appearance of retinopathy to diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Time for retinopathy to develop after diabetes was calculated from the equation correlating the duration among the YO-IT group with appearance of ModDR., Results: There were 1,719 patients in the OO-NIT group with AnyDR and 685 with ModDR and 756 in the YO-IT group with AnyDR and 385 with ModDR. A linear model showed ModDR appeared 2.66 years before diagnosis among those in the OO-NIT group. A quadratic model suggested that ModDR appeared 3.29 years after diagnosis among those in the YO-IT group. The resulting estimate was 6.05 years (2.66 + 3.29) between the onset and diagnosis of diabetes, compared with 13.36 years using standard criteria., Conclusions: Using best-fitting models and stratifying by glucose-lowering treatment and severity of retinopathy substantially lowers the estimated duration of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes., (© 2014 by the American Diabetes Association.)

OBJECTIVE We prospectively evaluated the association between autoimmunity to autonomic nervous structures and autonomic neuropathy in type 1 diabetes in relation to clinical variables. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A cohort of 112 patients with type 1 diabetes was prospectively followed from adolescence (T0) to approximately 4 (T4) and 16 (T16) years later. Standard cardiovascular (CV) tests and neurological examination were performed and related to the presence of circulating antibodies (Ab) to autonomic nervous structures detected at T0 and T4. Quality of life was assessed by a diabetes-specific questionnaire. RESULTS Sixty-six patients (59% of the cohort) were reexamined at T16 (age 31.4 ± 2 years; disease duration 23.4 ± 3.7 years). Nineteen had circulating Ab to autonomic structures. Prevalence of abnormal tests and autonomic symptoms were higher in Ab-positive (68 and 26%, respectively) than Ab-negative (32 and 4%) patients (P < 0.05). Among Ab-positive patients, the relative risk (RR) of having at least one altered CV test was 5.77 (95% CI 1.56-21.33), and an altered deep breathing (DB) test (<15 bpm) was 14.65 (2.48-86.46). Previous glycemic control was the only other predictor (RR 1.06 [1.002-1.13]/mmol/mol HbA1c increase). Presence of Ab carried over a 68% probability of developing an altered CV test; absence of Ab carried a 91% probability of not having an altered DB test and an 89% probability of not having an altered Valsalva ratio. Autonomic neuropathy was independently associated with worse quality of life. CONCLUSIONS Circulating Ab to autonomic structures are associated with the development of autonomic dysfunction in young diabetic patients independent of glycemic control.

Objective: To examine the global prevalence and major risk factors for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (VTDR) among people with diabetes., Research Design and Methods: A pooled analysis using individual participant data from population-based studies around the world was performed. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify all population-based studies in general populations or individuals with diabetes who had ascertained DR from retinal photographs. Studies provided data for DR end points, including any DR, proliferative DR, diabetic macular edema, and VTDR, and also major systemic risk factors. Pooled prevalence estimates were directly age-standardized to the 2010 World Diabetes Population aged 20-79 years., Results: A total of 35 studies (1980-2008) provided data from 22,896 individuals with diabetes. The overall prevalence was 34.6% (95% CI 34.5-34.8) for any DR, 6.96% (6.87-7.04) for proliferative DR, 6.81% (6.74-6.89) for diabetic macular edema, and 10.2% (10.1-10.3) for VTDR. All DR prevalence end points increased with diabetes duration, hemoglobin A(1c), and blood pressure levels and were higher in people with type 1 compared with type 2 diabetes., Conclusions: There are approximately 93 million people with DR, 17 million with proliferative DR, 21 million with diabetic macular edema, and 28 million with VTDR worldwide. Longer diabetes duration and poorer glycemic and blood pressure control are strongly associated with DR. These data highlight the substantial worldwide public health burden of DR and the importance of modifiable risk factors in its occurrence. This study is limited by data pooled from studies at different time points, with different methodologies and population characteristics.

Objective: To study time course changes in knowledge, problem solving ability, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes managed by group compared with individual care and education., Research Design and Methods: We conducted a 5-year randomized controlled clinical trial of continuing systemic education delivered by group versus individual diabetes care in a hospital-based secondary care diabetes unit. There were 120 patients with non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes enrolled and randomly allocated to group or individual care. Eight did not start and 28 did not complete the study. The main outcome measures were knowledge of diabetes, problem solving ability, quality of life, HbA1c, BMI, and HDL cholesterol., Results: Knowledge of diabetes and problem solving ability improved from year 1 with group care and worsened among control subjects (P<0.001 for both). Quality of life improved from year 2 with group care but worsened with individual care (P<0.001). HbA1c level progressively increased over 5 years among control subjects (+1.7%, 95% CI 1.1-2.2) but not group care patients (+0.1%, -0.5 to 0.4), in whom BMI decreased (-1.4, -2.0 to -0.7) and HDL cholesterol increased (+0.14 mmol/l, 0.07-0.22)., Conclusions: Adults with type 2 diabetes can acquire specific knowledge and conscious behaviors if exposed to educational procedures and settings tailored to their needs. Traditional one-to-one care, although delivered according to optimized criteria, is associated with progressive deterioration of knowledge, problem solving ability, and quality of life. Better cognitive and psychosocial results are associated with more favorable clinical outcomes.