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| |  NIH Study To Examine Prevention Of Type 2 Diabetes BOSTON, June 23, 1997 -- Nearly half of the participants recruited to take part in the national Diabetes Prevention Program are from ethnic minority groups -- a level almost unprecedented in general population studies -- according to a presentation at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 57th Annual Scientific Sessions here. The Diabetes Prevention Program is a major research study being conducted at 25 medical centers throughout the United States and is sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "We are very encouraged by the number of people from minority groups who are recognizing their risk for diabetes and volunteering to join this important study," said Robert Ratner, M.D., Diabetes Prevention Program principal investigator for the Medlantic Research Institute/Howard University site in Washington, D.C. "This is particularly important because African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Pacific Island Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes. We hope this high level of participation will aid us in our goal to serve those communities and to ensure that the study's results are applicable to those populations." Ratner made his presentation at the annual ADA conference where scientists from around the nation and the world are reporting new diabetes research findings related to treatment and trends. To date, the ethnic distribution of Diabetes Prevention Program participants is as follows: Caucasian = 57%, African American = 18 %, Hispanic American = 14%, Asian-Pacific Island American = 7%, and Native American = 4%. The Diabetes Prevention Program was launched one year ago at the 1996 annual ADA conference. Recruitment to the trial will continue through 1998; results will be reported in 2002. The Diabetes Prevention Program is recruiting people who have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), a condition in which a person's blood sugar level is elevated but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Approximately 21 million Americans have IGT but most of them don't know they have it. Other risk factors include being overweight, having a family history of diabetes, or having had diabetes during pregnancy. Ratner also reported that early estimates made by the study design committee projected that the participating medical centers would have to screen as many as 186,000 people to ultimately enroll the 4,000 participants needed for the trial. That estimate is right on target, said Ratner, who noted that the study has screened nearly 56,000 people for IGT and more than 865 have been randomized into the study. Ratner notes that all Diabetes Prevention Program participants are the first to potentially benefit from prevention or delay of the onset of diabetes through the study's interventions. Eligible study volunteers are randomly assigned to one of four groups: an intervention with the drug metformin, an intervention with the drug troglitazone, an intensive lifestyle intervention to reduce overall weight by 7 percent, and an intervention with a placebo. The Diabetes Prevention Program is actively recruiting participants. Volunteers should call the medical center near them or 1-888-DPP-JOIN (1-888-377-5646) for more information. In addition to the NIDDK, the study is also supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Aging, Office of Research on Minority Health, Indian Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Diabetes Association. Corporate support is being provided by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (metformin); Health o meter, Inc.; Lifescan, Inc.; Lipha Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Parke-Davis (troglitazone); and Sankyo Pharmaceutical Co.
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