Diabetes Prevention and Stroke #2

Guangwei Li, M.D. and David Katz, M.D., M.P.H. followed 438 Chinese people with high blood sugar for 29 years (and compared them with a control group). The 438 individuals followed a nutrition and exercise program for six years and then were followed by researchers for an additional twenty-three years. What did they find? The incidence of death from cardiovascular disease in the control group who did not change their lifestyles was nearly 20% compared with only 12% in the study group. Death from any cause was about 38% in the control group and only 28% in the study group. (Note: previous research has shown that for people with type 2 diabetes, the risk of dying from heart conditions and stroke is more than twice that of people without diabetes.) According to Dr. Li, "These [new] findings provide yet further justification to implement lifestyle interventions in people with high blood sugar, as clinical and public health measures to control the long-term consequences of diabetes."

Guangwei Li, M.D., department of endocrinology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing; David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director, Yale University Prevention Research Center, New Haven, Conn.; April 3, 2014, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, online.