In the age of personalized medicine, clinicians are trying to better understand not only patient preferences and values, but expectations as well. This systematic review examined 18 studies involving 17,240 patients with prediabetes to spot trends to facilitate clinical decision-making about how best to prevent disease progression. While preferences varied widely, the study found 3 certain trends:
- People with prediabetes prefer exercise and nutrition therapies compared to drug therapy. In particular, metformin had a very bad reputation that the authors encouraged clinicians to address head on.
- People with prediabetes expect intensive lifestyle interventions guided by professionals. The challenge, however, is that many individuals have a limited understanding of lifestyle changes and that preferences for lifestyle changes are influenced by a variety of factors, such as age, gender, income, etc.
- Effective communication between healthcare providers and patients with prediabetes will be crucial for the successful implementation of lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes. The authors encouraged providers to focus on establishing communication channels to help patients increase their knowledge of the disease.
The authors conclude that individuals with prediabetes hope to receive comprehensive counseling from professionals as they battle their disease.
Source: Ren Z, Xu X, Yue R. Preferences and Adherence of People with Prediabetes for Disease Management and Treatment: A Systematic Review. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2023;17:2981-2989. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S437267.
