Group therapy is usually considered more effective in obtaining changes in patient nutritional behaviour. Members of the group can share experiences and common goals that strengthen relationships, help to be supportive of each other, thus increasing motivation to cope with the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate in patients with type 2 diabetes the outcome in terms of metabolic control comparing Group versus Individual nutritional therapy. A total of 50 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to either Group (n = 25) or Individual (n = 25) nutritional educational therapy. Four educational sessions took place every fortnight over a 2 month period; follow-up visits were scheduled every three months during one year follow-up. Fasting glucose, HbA1c, BMI and waist circumference were assessed during the first session and at follow-up visits. Patients followed a structured program aimed at understanding and managing their disease, no written diet was provided but only information on the importance of a well-balanced diet, food composition, carbohydrate counting, and how to plan a healthy meal/snack. The importance of physical activity was also stressed encouraging subjects to exercise at least 150 minutes a week. No significant differences were observed between patients at entry. Patients enrolled in the Individual therapy underwent worsening of their anthropometric parameters, although these differences did not reach statistical significance compared to baseline values. A significant reduction in HbA1c values was observed in the Group vs. Individual therapy (7.0% ± 1.1 at entry vs. 6.6% ± 0,9 at 1 year; 7.6% ± 1.3 at entry vs. 8.4% ± 1.8 at 1 year,respectively, p< 0.001), with a significant variation in delta SDS for Group vs. Individual therapy (- 0.5 ± 0.5 vs. + 0.8 ± 1.6, respectively; p< 0,001).Group nutritional therapy was more effective than individual therapy in improving metabolic control in type 2 diabetes. We recommend its implementation in diabetes clinics.
Effectiveness of group medical nutrition therapy in lowering HbA(1c) in type 2 diabetes
Khazrai YM;Manfrini S;Picardi A;Pozzilli P
2007-01-01
Abstract
Group therapy is usually considered more effective in obtaining changes in patient nutritional behaviour. Members of the group can share experiences and common goals that strengthen relationships, help to be supportive of each other, thus increasing motivation to cope with the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate in patients with type 2 diabetes the outcome in terms of metabolic control comparing Group versus Individual nutritional therapy. A total of 50 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to either Group (n = 25) or Individual (n = 25) nutritional educational therapy. Four educational sessions took place every fortnight over a 2 month period; follow-up visits were scheduled every three months during one year follow-up. Fasting glucose, HbA1c, BMI and waist circumference were assessed during the first session and at follow-up visits. Patients followed a structured program aimed at understanding and managing their disease, no written diet was provided but only information on the importance of a well-balanced diet, food composition, carbohydrate counting, and how to plan a healthy meal/snack. The importance of physical activity was also stressed encouraging subjects to exercise at least 150 minutes a week. No significant differences were observed between patients at entry. Patients enrolled in the Individual therapy underwent worsening of their anthropometric parameters, although these differences did not reach statistical significance compared to baseline values. A significant reduction in HbA1c values was observed in the Group vs. Individual therapy (7.0% ± 1.1 at entry vs. 6.6% ± 0,9 at 1 year; 7.6% ± 1.3 at entry vs. 8.4% ± 1.8 at 1 year,respectively, p< 0.001), with a significant variation in delta SDS for Group vs. Individual therapy (- 0.5 ± 0.5 vs. + 0.8 ± 1.6, respectively; p< 0,001).Group nutritional therapy was more effective than individual therapy in improving metabolic control in type 2 diabetes. We recommend its implementation in diabetes clinics.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
