Type 2 Diabetes Remission Likely With Weight Loss After Diagnosis

TUESDAY, Jan. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Remission of type 2 diabetes is feasible and is associated with weight loss in the year after diabetes diagnosis, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in PLOS Medicine.

Hongjiang Wu, from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues examined the association of weight change at one year after diabetes diagnosis with long-term incidence and sustainability of type 2 diabetes remission in a population-based observational study involving 37,326 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found that 6.1 percent of people achieved diabetes remission during a median follow-up of 7.9 years, with an incidence rate of 7.8 per 1,000 person-years. The hazard ratios for diabetes remission were 3.28, 2.29, and 1.34, respectively, for people with ≥10, 5 to 9.9, and 0 to 4.9 percent weight loss within one year of diagnosis compared with those with weight gain, after adjustment for confounding variables. Overall, 67.2 percent of people who had achieved diabetes remission returned to hyperglycemia during a median follow-up of 3.1 years, with an incidence rate of 184.8 per 1,000 person-years. Compared with those with weight gain, those with ≥10, 5 to 9.9, and 0 to 4.9 percent weight loss had adjusted hazard ratios for returning to hyperglycemia of 0.52, 0.78, and 0.90, respectively. The risk for all-cause mortality was reduced in association with diabetes remission (hazard ratio, 0.69).

"Our study provides evidence for policymakers to design and implement early weight management interventions and diabetes remission initiative," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and nutrition industries.

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