Patient Education: Preventing Progression of Type 2 Diabetes: The Reflex to Use Pharmacological Therapy

Abstract

Primary care providers are often neglectful of lifestyle interventions in the management of the progression of glucose intolerance to type 2 diabetes. Several studies have examined the benefits of pharmacologic therapy in conjunction with lifestyle modification to delay or retard this progression. This article focuses on 3 of these studies: the DREAM trial, the ADOPT trial, and the Finnish Diabetes Study. All reinforce the use and effectiveness of thiazolidinediones in the prevention of progression, yet active lifestyle intervention complements and maintains a lower diabetes risk over time.

Keywords

type 2 diabetes lifestyle interventions prevention of diabetes

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