Follow-up data from the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study showed a four-year intensive lifestyle intervention reduced the risk of type-2 diabetes by 43 per cent. During active intervention, the risk of type-2 diabetes was cut by 58 per cent.
This contrasts with the DREAM study data which showed that 8mg daily rosiglitazone for three years in addition to lifestyle interventions reduced the risk of patients with IGT or impaired fasting glucose transferring to type-2 diabetes by 60 per cent.
County Down GP Dr Colin Kenny, chairman of the Primary Care Diabetes Society, said: ‘Exercise intervention is an effective intervention.’ However, he added: ‘The intervention is quite intensive and would be much harder to transfer into the NHS.’
