Improvement of glycemic control after re-emphasis of lifestyle modification in type 2 diabetic patients reluctant to additional medication.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to observe glycemic changes after emphasizing the importance of lifestyle modification in patients with mild or moderately uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
We examined 51 type 2 diabetic patients with 7.0-9.0% hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) who preferred to change their lifestyle rather than followed the recommendation of medication change. At the enrollment, the study subjects completed questionnaires about diet and exercise. After 3 months, HbA1c levels were determined and questionnaires on the change of lifestyle were accomplished. We divided the study subjects into 3 groups: improved (more than 0.3% decrease of HbA1c), aggravated (more than 0.3% increase of HbA1c) and not changed (-0.3% <HbA1c change <0.3%).


RESULTS
Among the total 51 subjects, 18 patients (35.3%) showed the decreased levels of HbA1c after 3 months with mean change of -0.74±0.27%, and HbA1c values of 11 patients (21.5%) were less than 7%. In addition, the HbA1c level was significantly reduced in patients who reportedly followed the lifestyle modification such as diet and exercise for 3 months, compared with the one obtained from patients who refused this lifestyle change (p=0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, 35.3% of the patients with mild or moderately uncontrolled type 2 diabetes showed the significant improvement of HbA1c levels after 3 months by simply regulating their daily diet and exercise without change of medication. This suggests that the lifestyle modification is significantly associated with the improvement of glucose control.
Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, 79 Gangnam-ro, Jinju 660-702, Korea.
Hee Jin
HJ
Kim
Tae Sik
TS
Jung
Jung Hwa
JH
Jung
Soo Kyoung
SK
Kim
Sang Min
SM
Lee
Kyong Young
KY
Kim
Deok Ryong
DR
Kim
Yeong Mi
YM
Seo
Jong Ryeal
JR
Hahm
D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human