STOP DIABETES - Knowledge-based Solutions

The aim of the Stop Diabetes - Knowledge based solutions (StopDia) consortium project (University of Eastern Finland, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Technical Research Centre of Finland) is to develop and test approaches to identify individuals at increased risk of type 2 diabetes and to empower them in adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle by combining individual and environment level strategies into a dual-process approach targeting deliberative and automatic processes of behavior. We also aim to identify barriers and facilitators of adopting a healthy lifestyle in the society, create a model for the prevention of type 2 diabetes by joint actions of health care, third sector, and other societal actors, and develop methods to monitor the cost-effectiveness of these actions. We will carry out a 1-year randomized controlled trial on the effects of among 10 000 individuals aged 18-70 years at increased risk of type 2 diabetes living in Finland. The participants will be randomized into the control group, the digital lifestyle intervention group, or the combined digital and face-to-face lifestyle intervention group. The aim of the interventions is to enhance diet quality, increase physical activity, decrease body weight, and improve glucose tolerance in individuals at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a major public health and economical problem all over the world, including Finland. A healthy diet and physical activity are the cornerstones for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. The aim of the Stop Diabetes - Knowledge based solutions (StopDia) study is to develop and test approaches to identify individuals at increased risk of type 2 diabetes and to empower them in adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle by combining individual and environment level strategies into a dual-process approach targeting deliberative and automatic processes of behavior. We also aim to identify barriers and facilitators of adopting a healthy lifestyle in the society, create a model for the prevention of type 2 diabetes by joint actions of health care, third sector, and other societal actors, and develop methods to monitor the cost-effectiveness of these actions. We will recruit 10 000 individuals aged 18-70 years at increased risk of type 2 diabetes living in the hospital district of Northern Savo, Päijät-Häme, or South Karelia in Finland for a 1-year randomized controlled trial. We will assess body height and weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure, take blood samples for biochemical analyses, and perform a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test at baseline. The participants will be asked to fill out a detailed digital questionnaire on factors related to the risk of type 2 diabetes, including diet, physical activity, sedentary behavior, health status, physical, psychic, and social well-being, as well as the use of health care services and medications. The participants will be randomized into the control group, the digital lifestyle intervention group, or the combined digital and face-to-face lifestyle intervention group. The aim of the interventions is to enhance diet quality, increase physical activity, decrease body weight, and improve glucose tolerance in individuals at increased risk of type 2 diabetes. We will also investigate the effects of environmental interventions at certain workplaces and the synergistic effects of the individual level and environmental interventions in a subsample of the study population. All baseline assessments will be repeated after the 1-year follow-up. The primary outcomes will be the changes in diet, total physical activity, body weight, and plasma glucose levels from the oral glucose tolerance test. After the 1-year intervention study, follow-up examinations will be performed 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years after the baseline examinations.