The Pre-Diabetes Interventions and Continued Tracking to Ease-out Diabetes (Pre-DICTED) program: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Community-based diabetes prevention programs varied widely in effectiveness, and the intervention strategy consisting of lifestyle interventions, stepwise addition of metformin, and financial incentives has not been studied in real-world clinical practice settings. The Pre-Diabetes Interventions and Continued Tracking to Ease-out Diabetes (Pre-DICTED) trial is a pragmatic trial that aims to compare the effectiveness of a community-based stepwise diabetes prevention program with added financial incentives (intervention) versus the standard of care (control) in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes over 3 years among overweight or obese individuals with pre-diabetes. METHODS: This is an open-label, 1:1 randomized controlled trial which aims to recruit 846 adult individuals with isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG), isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), or both IFG and IGT from Singapore. Intervention arm participants attend 12 group-based sessions (2 nutrition workshops, 9 exercise sessions, and a goal-setting workshop) delivered at community sites (weeks 1 to 6), receive weekly physical activity and nutrition recommendations delivered by printed worksheets (weeks 7 to 12), and receive monthly health tips delivered by text messages (months 4 to 36). From month 6 onwards, intervention arm participants who remain at the highest risk of conversion to diabetes are prescribed metformin. Intervention arm participants are also eligible for a payment/rewards program with incentives tied to attendance at the group sessions and achievement of the weight loss target (5% of baseline weight). All participants are assessed at baseline, month 3, month 6, and every 6 months subsequently till month 36. The primary endpoint is the proportion of participants with diabetes at 3 years. Secondary endpoints include the mean change from baseline at 3 years in fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour plasma glucose, HbA1c, body weight, body mass index, physical activity, and dietary intake. DISCUSSION: The Pre-DICTED trial will provide evidence of the effectiveness and feasibility of a community-based stepwise diabetes prevention program with added financial incentives for individuals with pre-diabetes in Singapore. The study will provide data for a future cost-effectiveness analysis, which will be used to inform policymakers of the value of a nationwide implementation of the diabetes prevention program. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.govNCT03503942. Retrospectively registered on April 20, 2018. Protocol version: 5.0 Date: 1 March 2019 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13063-021-05500-5.