Weight loss in people at risk of diabetes cuts mortality risk from cardiovascular disease

Researchers have said that losing weight helped people, who were at risk of diabetes, decreases their chances of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Professor Guangwei Li of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China, and colleagues, presented the results from the 23-year follow up of the Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Study, a randomized controlled trial, which showed that people in China with impaired glucose tolerance randomized to lifestyle interventions had significantly reduced death rates from cardiovascular disease and all-causes, compared to those patients randomized to the control arm.

The investigators enrolled 438 patients assigned to intervention clinics, and 138 patients were assigned to control clinics. The study intervention lasted for 6 years, and patients were then followed up for 23 years.

At the end of the follow up period, cumulative incidence of death from cardiovascular disease was 11.9 per cent in the lifestyle intervention group, versus 19.6 per cent in the control group, and death from all causes was 28.1 per cent in the lifestyle group versus 38.4 per cent in the control group. The difference between groups for both outcomes was statistically significant.

The new research has been published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.