Feature Article / Rodriguez et al. Abstract Nicoll et al. Feature Article / Interdisciplinary Management by Hospital Glycemic Teams Sustainability of Improved Glycemic Control After Diabetes Self-Management Education

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate glycemic control as measured by A1C during a 2-year period after patients received diabetes self-management edu-cation (DSME). Methods. Patients who completed DSME in 2009 and received medical follow-up with A1C measurements for at least 2 years after DSME were included in the evaluation. Primary endpoints were changes in A1C from before to immediately after, 1 year after, and 2 years after DSME. Secondary outcomes included the effects of the following factors on change in A1C: sex, duration of dia-betes, uncontrolled diabetes (A1C ≥ 9%), health insurance coverage, and self-reported education level. Results. Forty-three patients were included in the evaluation. Mean A1C before DSME was 10.2 ± 3.7%. Mean A1C after DSME was 7.8 ± 2.2 % (P < 0.0001), a 23.5 % reduc-tion. Mean A1C at 1 and 2 years after DSME was 7.8 ± 2.1 % for each year and remained unchanged from just after DSME to 1 and 2 years after DSME (P> 0.05). Patients with a duration of diabetes of < 1 year had a significantly greater reduction in mean A1C than those with a dura-tion of diabetes ≥ 1 year (28.7 and 20.2%, respectively, P = 0.001). Conclusion. DSME improved gly-cemic control to a substantial degree, and the effect was sustained for up to 2 years. Although the reduction in A1C was significant for all patients receiving DSME, there was a signifi-cantly greater reduction for patients who had a duration of diabetes of < 1 year than for those with a duration of diabetes> 1 year. Diabetes and its complications are a significant health burden in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ~ 26 million people, or 8.3 % of the U.S. population, are affected by diabetes.1 The lifetime risk of type 2 diabetes is now more than one in three in the general U.S