Analysis of the impact of a diabetes education program on glycemic control and prevalence of chronic complications

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease of increasing importance in public health, associated with chronic complications including retinopathy, neuropathy, and kidney, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. This study assessed the impact of strategic DM education actions on glycemic control and prevalence of chronic complications in patients with DM. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Retrospective, quantitative, cohort study at a diabetes patients association comprised of a multidisciplinary team. In all, 533 individuals with DM were included. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected using questionnaire and medical records. Of these, 333 patients evaluated for 12 to 24 months, with type 2 DM (T2DM, n = 317) and other types of DM (n = 16), were selected to collect data on retinopathy and diabetes kidney disease (DKD). RESULTS: There was a predominance of elderly individuals, low education level, women, high rate of overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, dietary errors, dyslipidemia, and T2DM. More patients with T2DM versus type 1 DM had optimal glycemic control (46.3% vs. 12.2%, respectively; p < 0.001). The impact of the educational processes was demonstrated by the analysis of the initial and final glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c) levels. There was an increased prevalence of individuals with well-controlled DM during follow-up (prevalence ratio [PR] 2.76, 95%, p = 0.001), along with a significant reduction in retinopathy (PR: 0.679, p = 0.001) and albuminuria (PR: 0.637, 95%, p = 0.002) when these variables were evaluated in well-controlled versus uncontrolled HbA1c groups. CONCLUSIONS: A multidisciplinary approach with integration and quality was associated with improvements in DM control and reduced occurrence of chronic DM complications.