UK universities lead new diabetes prevention programme

Thu, 09 Feb 2012
Scientists from two UK universities and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have been awarded GBP1.9 million grant to help them carry out a large prevention programme for patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. The Prevention of Diabetes through Physical Activity Education with Different Levels of Ongoing Support (PROPELS) programme has been set up to offer information to the NHS to lessen the amount of people who develop diabetes in the future.

The grant to researchers, from the universities of Leicester and Cambridge, as well as the MRC, from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (HTA), is to assess the effectiveness of structured education in helping prevent diabetes in the long term.

They will monitor the benefits of encouraging people in a high-risk category of type 2 diabetes to take part in more physical activity to help them reduce their blood glucose levels over one to two years.

A spokesperson for the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme commented "The NIHR HTA programme identifies the most important questions that the NHS needs answers to through wide consultation and have highlighted this area as being of national importance."

Researcher Kamlesh Khunti commented "Type 2 diabetes costs the NHS over GBP10 billion annually. Many cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable through changes to lifestyle, such as increasing physical activity."

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