Numerous medications – including insulin – are used to treat type 2 diabetes without sufficient attention being paid to lifestyle changes. However, this is essential, as a study at the MedUni Vienna / AKH has now shown. Researchers had examined 930 patients at a diabetes rehabilitation center.
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930 patients from a diabetes rehabilitation center were examined
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Around Austria, around 600,000 people suffer from type 2 diabetes mellitus. The researchers examined 930 patients in a diabetes rehabilitation center for their studies when they were admitted and immediately before their discharge. During their three-week stay in the rehabilitation center, the patients were treated to a modified lifestyle, including Consisting of a vegetable and fruit-rich diet with a total of 1,200 to 1,600 calories per day as well as an additional range of physical activity – familiarized or taught.
In a press release, the scientists reported that the change in lifestyle habits meant that, with the exception of metformin and DPP4 inhibitors, the patients could completely do without additional antidiabetic agents when they were discharged. Her study was recently published in “Plos One”. Those who needed insulin were able to reduce their daily dose by an average of 39 percent.
These findings would suggest that a lifestyle change should be preferred to prescribing additional antidiabetic agents and may even be superior, said study leader Werner Waldhäusl, emeritus leader of the Clinical Department for Endocrinology and Metabolism and the University Clinic for Internal Medicine III of the AKH / MedUni Vienna.
Values improved
In addition, when the patients were discharged, the HbA1c value, which documented their blood sugar behavior over a period of around two months, had improved or decreased on average by seven percent, blood pressure by ten percent, and body mass index and waist circumference by three percent each. These are remarkable results that would prove the effectiveness and usefulness of a standardized stay of type 2 diabetics in a rehabilitation facility for metabolic diseases. Since treatments in such rehab centers are generally much cheaper than in acute hospitals, the study authors see considerable savings potential for the healthcare system.
At the same time, the scientists found that – contrary to popular belief – it was no more difficult for people with diabetes to lose weight than for people without such a disease. The research group noticed negatively during their studies that only a small proportion, namely less than nine percent, of the diabetes patients were vaccinated against influenza and pneumococci. For people with a chronic illness such as diabetes, however, flu and pneumonia are very dangerous, often fatal diseases, warned Waldhäusl. “Consistent vaccination of this high-risk group, as recommended worldwide in the guidelines of the relevant specialist societies, would be urgently required.”
Service: Studies: Type 2 Diabetes Care: Improvement by Standardization at a Diabetes Rehabilitation Clinic. An Observational Report; DOI www.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15714.07362; Obesity: outcome of standardized life-style change in a rehabilitation clinic. An observational study; DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S197495
(APA / red, photo: APA / APA (dpa))
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