Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by changes in the lifestyles of high-risk subjects.

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OBJECTIVE -The aim of this secondary analysis of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study was to assess the effects of lifestyle intervention on metabolic syndrome and its components. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-A total of 522 middle-aged overweight men and women with impaired glucose tolerance were randomized into an individualized lifestyle intervention group or a standard care control group. National Cholesterol Education Program criteria were used for the definition of metabolic syndrome.RESULTS -At the end of the study, with a mean follow-up of 3.9 years, we found a significant reduction in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the intervention group compared with the control group (odds ratio [OR] R ecent studies (1-4) have shown that lifestyle intervention reduces the risk of progression from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to manifest type 2 diabetes. The aim of this secondary analysis of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) was to assess the effects of lifestyle intervention on metabolic syndrome and its components.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -The DPS design, subjects, and methods applied have previously been described (2,5,6). Altogether, 522 middle-aged (mean age 55 Ϯ 7 years) and overweight (mean BMI 31.2 Ϯ 4.6 kg/m 2 ) men (n ϭ 172) and women (n ϭ 350) with IGT were randomized into either an intensive lifestyle intervention group or a standard care control group. Blood samples were collected and an oral glucose tolerance test was performed at baseline and at each annual visit. Updated National Cholesterol Education Program 2005 criteria (7) were used for the definition of metabolic syndrome. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 11.5; SPSS, Chicago, IL). For those participants who developed diabetes according to the World Health Organization guidelines of 1985 (8) or who dropped out during the study, the measurements from the last observation were used as the final end value. Wilcoxon's nonparametric test was used to compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components within the groups. Regression analyses adjusted for sex, age, blood pressure and cholesterol medications, and baseline status were applied to compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components between the groups.RESULTS -The prevalence of metabolic syndrome decreased during the first year from 74.0 to 58.0% vs. from 74.0 to 67.7% (P ϭ 0.018 for the change between the groups) in the intervention and control groups, respectively. At the end of the study, 62.6% of subjects in the intervention group and 71.2% of subjects in the control group (P ϭ 0.025 for the change between the groups) had metabolic syndrome, which corresponds to an age-and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.62 (95% CI 0.40 -0.95) in the intervention group compared with the control group.