Effectiveness of a lifestyle modification programme in reducing cardiometabolic risk markers in urban Sri Lankan women with pre- diabetes

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Prediabetes increases cardlometabolic risk. Our aim was to develop and assess the effectiveness of a lifestyle modification programme in reducing cardiometabolic risk markers in newly diagnosed prediabetic urban Sri Lankan women. METHOD: Women (n=1500) from Colombo Municipal Council area were screened and 130 newly diagnosed prediabetics recruited randomly to intervention and control groups. Participant involvement ensured development of a culturally relevant, four month intervention programme. Control group received initial advice and print material only. Intervention was developed with a goal based strategy of 5% weight loss and 150 minutes of physical activity (PA) per week using a predominantly group based approach with individual sessions.FPG, HbAic, serum lipids and hs-CRP were measured. RESULTS: The final sample was 101 women (intervention n=51, control n=50) with no significant difference in baseline parameters between groups or responders and non-responders. Following intervention, 52.9% achieved the weight loss goal compared to the control group (2%) and37.3% became normoglycaemic, compared to none among controls.In the intervention group, when compared to baseline, there was a significant (p<0.05) reduction in HbAlc (0.2±0.24%), FPG (20.6±11.6 mg/dl), total cholesterol (14.4±26.5 mg/dl) and triglycerides (13.2+30.7 mg/dl) and a significant (p<0.05) increase in HDL-cholesterol (3.2+5.9 mg/dl) post intervention with no significant change in hs-CRP. All differences were significant against the control group. Conclusions: A culturally sensitive intervention programme achieved improvement in markers of glycaemia, lipid profile and weight reduction with reversal of prediabetes in a majority.