Prediabetes screening intervention used to promote a lifestyle change program

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Health Behavior

Background:

• An estimated 88 million Americans have prediabetes, a condition increasing diabetes risk.
• Awareness of prediabetes risk is linked to adopting behaviors that reduce diabetes risk.
• No current literature supports methods to promote lifestyle change programs (LCPs) proven effective for prediabetes risk reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a prediabetes risk-screening intervention.
• To determine if the intervention increased participants' awareness of their prediabetes risk.
• To evaluate the intervention's effect on enrollment in a lifestyle change program (LCP).

Main Methods:

• The intervention involved informed consent, surveys, the CDC Prediabetes Screening Test, BMI calculation, and risk counseling.
• Participants scoring below 9 on the screening test were eligible for LCP enrollment.
• Paired t tests were used to compare pre- and post-intervention survey scores (P ≤ 0.05).

Main Results:

• 46 out of 53 participants screened positive for prediabetes risk.
• 89.1% of participants reported increased awareness of their prediabetes risk after the intervention.
• 12 participants enrolled in the LCP, matching the previous pilot study's enrollment numbers.

Conclusions:

• The prediabetes screening intervention successfully increased risk awareness, both quantitatively and via self-report.
• The intervention achieved enrollment rates comparable to the previous pilot year.
• This screening intervention can be a valuable tool to promote LCP participation and reduce prediabetes risk.