Medline ® Abstracts for References 24,25

Physicians have many options available for treating patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Making decisions on types of pharmaceuticals to use and when to introduce them into the treatment regimen can be a complex process. In addition, nutrition and exercise must be considered in any comprehensive treatment plan. The author describes the case of an African American woman with uncontrolled T2DM, obesity, hyperlipidemia, low bone mass, menopausal symptoms, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, distal sensory neuropathy, and background retinopathy. An aggressive, comprehensive treatment plan developed for this patient included pharmaceuticals (triple oral therapy: metformin, pioglitazone hydrochloride, and sitagliptin phosphate), nutrition counseling (with a registered, licensed dietician), and exercise. Treatment led to substantial improvements in the patient's daytime glucose level, glycosylated hemoglobin level, and body weight at 3-month follow-up. Further interventions were needed to address the patient's hyperlipidemia and low bone mass. The author offers physician guidelines for making decisions on glycemic control for patients with T2DM and for managing hyperlipidemia. He also strongly recommends incorporating nutrition counseling by registered, licensed dietitians and exercise (preferably of a weight-bearing nature) into treatment plans for patients with T2DM, hyperlipidemia, and low bone mass.

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of a lifestyle intervention programme in primary healthcare, targeted to patients with moderate to high risk of cardiovascular disease in terms of cardiovascular risk factors, physical activity, and quality of life.

METHOD: Randomized controlled trial with one-year follow-up, carried out in a primary healthcare centre in Northern Sweden. A total of 151 middle-aged men and women, with hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, or obesity were enrolled. The subjects were randomized to either the intervention (n = 75) or the control group (n = 76). A total of 123 subjects completed the one-year follow-up. Interventions: Exercise: supervised endurance and circuit training in groups three times a week for three months. Diet: five group sessions of diet counselling with a dietitian. Follow- up meetings with a physiotherapist were conducted monthly thereafter. Primary outcomes were changes in anthropometry, maximal oxygen uptake, health-related quality of life, and self-reported physical activity. The secondary outcomes were changes in blood pressure and metabolic variables.

RESULTS: After oneyear the intervention group significantly increased maximal oxygen uptake, physical activity, and quality of life and significantly decreased body weight, waist and hip circumference, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and glycosylated haemoglobin. There were significant differences between groups, mean changes (and their 95% confidence intervals, CI) in waist circumference -1.9 cm (-2.80 to -0.90; p<0.001), in waist-hip ratio -0.01 (-.02 to -0.004; p<0.01) and in diastolic blood pressure -2.3 mmHg (-4.04 to -0.51; p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: A prevention programme in primary healthcare with a focus on physical activity and diet counselling followed by structured follow-up meetings can favourably influence several risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and quality of life in high-risk subjects for at least one year.