The effects of a plate model on the remission and need for hypoglycemic drugs of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in China: A randomized trial

Abstract

To assess the effect of the plate model on the remission of diabetes and the demand for hypoglycemic drugs in China. We selected 456 participants with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and not required to take hypoglycemic drugs at baseline. The plate education model consists of three parts: a colored leaflet suitable for low literacy reading, regular medical visits and health education sessions. The primary outcomes were remission of diabetes and the time to first use of hypoglycemic drugs. The study was ended after 8.1 years of follow-up. The incidence of the using hypoglycemic drugs was 36.15 % in the plate model, and 75.54 % in the low-fat model (P < 0.001). The prevalence of any remission in plate model was 27.1 % (95 % CI 16.8–37.4 %) during the first 2 years, decreasing to 14.5 % (95 % CI 6.3–22.7 %) during year 4, to 10.1 % (95 % CI 4.4–15.8 %) during year 6, and to 9.6 % (95 % CI 5.3–13.9 %) during year 8, compared with 12.2 % (95 % CI 5.2–19.2 %) at year 2, 6.1 % (95 % CI 2.1–10.1 %) at year 4, 4.7 %(95 % CI 2.2–7.2 %) at year 6, and 2.6 % (95 % CI 1.1–4.2 %) at year 8 in the low-fat group. The HbA1c of plate group was significantly decreased at the endpoint (7.74 ± 0.45 % vs. 6.70 ± 0.46 %, P < 0.001). The plate model may significantly improve the remission rate of diabetes, delay the demand for diabetes drugs, more suitable for patients with low educational level, and reduce the long-term level of HbA1c. Clinical trials registryThe study was registered at ChiCTR (www.chictr.org.cn) (ChiCTR1900027097).