Understanding More About Pre-diabetes And Diabetes

Reasons for the study

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study is about adult onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

We know that before people develop T2DM they go through a pre-diabetes phase where the blood glucose level is slightly raised for some time (often years).

This stage is called impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or pre-diabetes and means that there is an increased risk of going on to develop type T2DM. Improvements in diet, weight loss and exercise may reduce the chances of people with pre-diabetes developing T2DM.

This study will test whether this diet and lifestyle programme, the Norfolk DPS, can reduce the chance of developing diabetes.

How is the study funded?

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study is hosted by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Foundation Trust in collaboration with the University of East Anglia. This 5 year research study is funded by a £2m National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) grant.

The NIHR was established in 2006 - building on the NHS R&D programme - to transform research in the NHS, increase the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, and develop and support the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. Its aim is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.

What is diabetes?

What is diabetes?

Diabetes can be a serious condition and is defined by a high level of glucose in the blood. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and can cause damage to the blood vessels, eyes and kidneys although the impact of these complications can be reduced by early screening and detection. There are two types of diabetes: type 1 (which usually develops before the age of 40 and always needs insulin treatment) and type 2 (adult onset, which is usually diagnosed over the age of 40 and can be managed with diet, tablets or insulin).

After eating, various foods are broken down in the gut into sugars. The main sugar is called glucose which passes through your gut wall into your bloodstream. Some of this glucose is used by the cells for energy immediately, and some is converted into glycogen or fat (a store of energy).

To enable the cells to absorb the glucose from the blood stream, a hormone called insulin is released into the blood from cells called beta cells in the pancreas.

T2DM occurs when not enough insulin is produced by the body for it to function properly, or when the body's cells do not react effectively to insulin. T2DM is far more common than type 1 diabetes - around 90% of all people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study is about adult onset T2DM.

We know that before people develop T2DM they go through a pre-diabetes phase where the blood glucose level is only slightly raised (often for years) before full T2DM develops.

This stage is called impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or pre-diabetes and indicates that there is an increased risk of developing T2DM. Improvements in diet, weight loss and exercise may reduce the chances of people with pre-diabetes developing T2DM.

This study will test whether our diet and lifestyle programme can reduce the chance of developing diabetes.

Reducing the risks of developing type 2 diabetes

Early diagnosis of pre-diabetes is important as by making healthy lifestyle changes, it may be possible to delay or prevent the onset of T2DM.

If you have been newly diagnosed with T2DM, making positive lifestyle changes may help to prevent some of the health complications associated with the condition. Key changes include:

For more information on diabetes visit the Diabetes UK website.

If you believe you may have pre-diabetes, and are concerned about developing full T2DM, take action now and register your details.

Register