Pathobiology and Reversibility of Prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort (PROP-ABC) Study: design of lifestyle intervention

• Published in: BMJ open diabetes research & care Vol. 8; no. 1; p. e000899
• Main Authors: Dagogo-Jack, Samuel, Brewer, Amy A, Owei, Ibiye, French, Lindsey, Umekwe, Nkiru, Rosenthal, Renate, Wan, Jim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group LTD 10.06.2020; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Calories; Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk; Counseling; Diabetes; Disease prevention; Exercise; Glucose; Insulin; Intervention; Lifestyles; Multiracial people; Natural history; Physical fitness; Race; Research design
• ISSN: 2052-4897; 2052-4897
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2019-000899

IntroductionIntensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) prevents progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes (T2D) but reversal of prediabetes is less well studied.Research design and methodsThe overall objectives of the Pathobiology and Reversibility of Prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort (PROP-ABC) Study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02027571) are to determine the natural history and reversibility of prediabetes. The study tests specific hypotheses on the patterns of progression to prediabetes among normoglycemic African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) offspring of parents with T2D; emergence of microvascular and macrovascular complications during transition from normal to impaired glucose regulation; significance of the ‘metabolically healthy’ obese phenotype; and effect of duration of the prediabetic state on its reversibility with lifestyle intervention. Participants who developed incident prediabetes were offered ILI and evaluated quarterly for 5 years. The primary outcome was restoration of normal glucose regulation (fasting plasma glucose <100 mg/dL and two-hour plasma glucose (2hrPG)<140 mg/dL).ResultsOf the 223 subjects enrolled in the PROP-ABC Study, 158 participants with incident prediabetes started ILI. The mean age was 53.3±9.28 years; body mass index 30.6±6.70 kg/m2; 70% were female, 52.4% AA and 47.6% EA. The ILI program used goal setting, weight-based calorie restriction, physical activity (180 min/week), self-monitoring, and meal replacement. Monthly face-to-face (F2F) counseling sessions during the initial 6 months, and quarterly visits thereafter, were supplemented with electronic and postal contacts. Attendance at F2F sessions was highly correlated with weight loss (r=0.98, p<0.0001). Meal replacement induced ~5 kg weight loss within 3 months in participants with recrudescent weight pattern. Self-reported exercise minutes correlated with pedometer step counts (r=0.47, p<0.0001).ConclusionThe PROP-ABC Study has demonstrated the feasibility of executing an ILI program designed to test reversibility of incident prediabetes in a biracial cohort.