Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Winter 2022 - 11

Professional News
Diabetes Care and Education Specialists Can Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
One fact that can't be ignored: prediabetes is a serious
health condition that affects millions of Americans.
People with blood glucose levels that are higher than normal,
but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,
are considered to have prediabetes. In the United States, 88
million adults have prediabetes, but 85% of them don't know
they have it. Risk factors include being over 45 years of age,
having a family history of diabetes, being overweight, and not
being physically active.
Without active intervention through lifestyle change, including
improvements in exercise and nutrition, prediabetes often
progresses to type 2 diabetes, which can result in dangerous
complications, including kidney damage, nerve damage,
amputations, blindness, heart disease, and stroke.
Early intervention is the first step on the path to prevent or
delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.
" Diabetes prevalence is very high in my
community of the Imperial Valley. Our community
has both a DSMES program and a DPP program.
Many of our health care providers will refer
patients with diabetes and patients with
prediabetes to me. I have the privilege of sending
patients with diabetes to our diabetes education
program, as well as sending our patients with
prediabetes to our diabetes prevention program.
Having both of these educational programs is a
win-win for our community. "
CDCES Testimonial: Stephen Jaime, RN, MS, CNS,
El Centro Regional Medical Center, El Centro, CA
The National Diabetes Prevention Program Can Help
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's)
National Diabetes Prevention Program-or National
DPP-was created in 2010 to address the increasing burden
of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in the United States.
This national effort created partnerships between public
and private organizations to offer evidence-based, costeffective
interventions that help prevent type 2 diabetes in
communities across the country.
One key feature of the National DPP is the CDC-recognized
lifestyle change program, which is based on findings
from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) Diabetes
Prevention Program research study (Diabetes Prevention
Program Research Group. N Engl J Med 2002;346:393-403).
The National DPP focuses on nutritional and physical activity
modification for individuals with prediabetes and others who
are at risk for type 2 diabetes.
The year-long program follows a research-based curriculum
that starts with weekly group meetings for the first 6 months,
followed by routine follow-up sessions to keep participants
on track.
Attention CDCESs: Help Patients Prevent as Well as
Manage Type 2 Diabetes
Certified diabetes care and education specialists (CDCESs)
play a crucial role in helping people with diabetes manage
their disease. But did you know that your training,
background, and experiences make you a perfect fit for the
National DPP's Prevent T2 lifestyle change curriculum?
We encourage you to consider starting a lifestyle change
program in conjunction with your diabetes self-management
education and support (DSMES) services to help proactively
reduce the risk of diabetes in your community. Research
has shown that people with prediabetes who complete
this structured lifestyle change program can cut their risk
of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 58% and that their
reduction in risk continues for years to come.
Through the year-long program, trained lifestyle coaches
provide tailored, culturally competent guidance to
participants, ensuring they stay motivated to:
* Make small changes to the way they eat without giving up
the foods they love
* Increase their physical activity levels to at least 30 minutes
per day, a few days per week
* Manage their stress
Your patients may be eligible to participate in a lifestyle
change program if they have had gestational diabetes or
qualify through the results of any of three blood tests (A1C,
" As a CDCES, I am receiving more referrals for
patients with insulin resistance and prediabetes.
Simultaneously implementing a lifestyle change
program for diabetes prevention (using the
Prevent T2 curriculum) allows me to provide
a research-based intervention to patients
who in the past wouldn't have been referred
to me until they had been diagnosed with
type 2 diabetes. Offering the lifestyle change
program in addition to DSMES ensures that
I can help patients regardless of where they
are on their journey. "
CDCES Testimonial: Brent Wilson, RD/LD, CDCES,
INTEGRIS Diabetes Center, Oklahoma City, OK
continued on page 12
professional.diabetes.org 11

https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/lifestyle-change.html https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/pdf/t2/resources/HCP_Factsheet.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/pdf/t2/resources/HCP_Factsheet.pdf https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/research-areas/diabetes/diabetes-prevention-program-dpp https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/research-areas/diabetes/diabetes-prevention-program-dpp http://professional.diabetes.org

Diabetes Pro Quarterly - Winter 2022

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