Link Strengthened Between Diab
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) - The largest and most comprehensive study to date on risk factors for diabetes in women confirms the critical roles that diet and lifestyle factors can play in the development and prevention of this disorder. The study findings appear in the September 14th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine
"Diet and lifestyle modification has enormous potential in preventing type 2 diabetes," Harvard School of Public Health researcher, Dr. Frank B. Hu, told Reuters Health. Physicians should be aware of diabetes risk factors and should counsel their patients on prevention through dietary and lifestyle means, he added.
Dr. Hu and colleagues in Boston, Massachusetts, examined the effects of diet and lifestyle on type 2 diabetes risk in nearly 85,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study. The women were between the ages of 30 to 55 years and diabetes-free when the study began 25 years ago.
The researchers confirmed prior research results indicating that exercise, diet, smoking and alcohol use all played a role in the development of diabetes. Regular exercise and moderate alcohol use reduced the risk of diabetes in the women, while poor diet and smoking increased risk, even after adjusting for body-mass index. Overall, 91% of the 3,300 new cases of type 2 diabetes in the group could be attributed to these risk factors.
"These results suggest that in this population the majority of cases of type 2 diabetes could be avoided by behavior modification," Dr. Hu's group writes.
"Patients at higher risk of diabetes, such as those who are overweight or obese, or those who have a family history of diabetes, should be offered more aggressive preventive interventions," Dr. Hu told Reuters Health.
Of all the behavior modification approaches suggested by the new study, the authors agree that weight control is likely "to offer the greatest benefit" in preventing this form of diabetes in women., http://www.100md.com
"Diet and lifestyle modification has enormous potential in preventing type 2 diabetes," Harvard School of Public Health researcher, Dr. Frank B. Hu, told Reuters Health. Physicians should be aware of diabetes risk factors and should counsel their patients on prevention through dietary and lifestyle means, he added.
Dr. Hu and colleagues in Boston, Massachusetts, examined the effects of diet and lifestyle on type 2 diabetes risk in nearly 85,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study. The women were between the ages of 30 to 55 years and diabetes-free when the study began 25 years ago.
The researchers confirmed prior research results indicating that exercise, diet, smoking and alcohol use all played a role in the development of diabetes. Regular exercise and moderate alcohol use reduced the risk of diabetes in the women, while poor diet and smoking increased risk, even after adjusting for body-mass index. Overall, 91% of the 3,300 new cases of type 2 diabetes in the group could be attributed to these risk factors.
"These results suggest that in this population the majority of cases of type 2 diabetes could be avoided by behavior modification," Dr. Hu's group writes.
"Patients at higher risk of diabetes, such as those who are overweight or obese, or those who have a family history of diabetes, should be offered more aggressive preventive interventions," Dr. Hu told Reuters Health.
Of all the behavior modification approaches suggested by the new study, the authors agree that weight control is likely "to offer the greatest benefit" in preventing this form of diabetes in women., http://www.100md.com