The Pre-DICTED programme consists of a series of classes to learn about healthy eating habits and group exercises.
SingHealth Duke-NUS Diabetes Centre has launched a new study to understand the effectiveness of the Pre-DICTED (Pre-Diabetes Interventions & Continued Tracking to Ease out Diabetes) programme in preventing progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes.
The Pre-DICTED programme consists of a series of classes to learn about healthy eating habits and group exercises. In addition, incentives will be offered to those who achieve and maintain their health targets. If a participant in is still at high-risk of developing diabetes after six months, he/she will be prescribed medication.
People with pre-diabetes have higher than normal blood sugar level. Left unattended, they are likely to progress on to diabetes within a few years and develop related complications.
"In Singapore, one in seven adults aged 18 to 69 has pre-diabetes; the data that we gather from the study will be critical in helping us understand the impact of such interventions on our local population. We will also be able to evaluate if this should be the new standard of care to prevent diabetes in Singapore," said Dr Bee Yong Mong, Head, Singhealth Duke-NUS Diabetes Centre and Senior Consultant, Department of Endocrinology, Singapore General Hospital.
SingHealth aims to recruit 850 local participants for this study, who will be randomly assigned to two groups. The first group will be referred to primary care providers to receive counselling on lifestyle changes and follow-up care. The second group will join other participants in the Pre-DICTED programme.
Participants in both groups will receive health checks every six months for a period of three years to monitor their condition.
This study is done in collaboration with the health Promotion Board and Singapore Clinical Research Institute and endorsed by the national Diabetes Prevention and Care Taskforce, and funded by the Ministry of Health.
SingHealth is recruiting individuals aged 18-64 with BMI>23 who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes to take part in the Pre-DICTED study. To sign up, call 91156276 or email predicted@singhealth.com.sg
For more details on the study, visit www.predicted.com.sg
