The role of hospital intervention in prevention of diabetes in pre-diabetes patients

Hospital is an important part of health system. This study aimed to investigate the functional role of a teaching hospital in preventing diabetes in the community.

This was a before-after study. A random sample of individuals aged 18-65 with a fasting blood glucose 100 to 125 mg / dl were studies.. Screening and identification of pre-diabetes cases was done through a blood test. The intervention included an educational program in order to increase their knowledge and attitudes about healthy lifestyle and on reduction of the risk of diabetes. To collect data a self-designed questionnaire based on the LSQ lifestyle questionnaire and the national guidelines of the Iranian Ministry of Health was administered twice, once before intervention and once after intervention.

In all 300 individuals were entered into the study. Half of the participants in the study were male and the other half were women. The mean age of the participants was 43.2 (SD = 12.63) years. The results showed that before and after intervention, there was a significant difference between fasting blood glucose, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and decreased significantly (P <0.001). Knowledge, attitude and practice of people in different dimensions of lifestyle including nutrition, physical activity and smoking also indicated a significant increase in the score obtained from questionnaires before and after the intervention (P <0.001).

The findings indicated that for controlling blood glucose and proper diet based on the existing standards of pre-diabetes mellitus, as well as preventative measures for blood pressure and weight reduction could be achieved by educational interventions.