Abstract

BACKGROUND
Lifestyle modification is known to have positive effects on glycemic control and improving the cardiovascular risk factors. Although lifestyle modification is considered to be important in treating diabetic patients, there are few studies concerning the direct effect of lifestyle modification on the patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of lifestyle modification on glycemic control, lipid profiles, body indices, serum adiponectin and the hsCRP levels for patients with T2DM in Korea. METHODS: Twenty two patients with T2DM who had no medication changes for the recent 3 months and who also had a HbA1c> or =7.0% were enrolled in a lifestyle modification program. These patients visited Severance Hospital Diabetes Center once every week for 12 weeks, and they were educated about exercise and diet control. Their metabolic and anthropometric parameters were compared with 22 control T2DM patients who were not in the program. RESULTS:Lifestyle modification group patients showed significant decrements in HbA1c (-0.62 +/- 1.29 vs. 0.14 +/- 0.91%, p=0.044), total cholesterol (-0.57 +/- 0.54 vs. -0.06 +/- 0.61 mmol/l, p=0.007), LDL cholesterol (-0.57 +/- 0.62 vs. 0.02 +/- 0.59 mmol/l, p=0.003), body weight (-1.5 +/- 19 vs. 0.2 +/- 1.5 kg, p=0.005) and BMI (-0.6 +/- 0.7 vs 0.0 +/- 0.6 kg/m2, p=0.003) compared with the control subjects. HOMAIR, serum triglyceride, adiponectin, and hsCRP levels showed no significant difference compared to the control subjects. CONCLUSION: Lifestyle modification in Korean T2DM patients had positive effects on weight loss, glycemic control, and lipid profiles. These changes imply that lifestyle modification will be helpful for managing DM and its complications.

• Keywords: Lifestyle modification;Glycemic control;Type 2 diabetes;