| Objectives: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is rising rapidly around the world. A number of
systematic reviews have provided evidence for the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions
on diabetic patients. The effectiveness of theory- and model-based education-lifestyle
interventions for diabetic patients are unclear. The systematic review and meta-analysis
aimed to evaluate and quantify the impact of theory-based lifestyle interventions on
type 2 diabetes.
Study design: A literature search of authentic electronic resources including PubMed, Scopus,
and Cochrane collaboration was performed to identify published papers between
January 2002 and July 2016.
Methods: The PICOs (participants, intervention, comparison, and outcomes) elements were
used for the selection of studies to meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Mean differences
and standard deviations of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c [mmol/mol]) level in baseline
and follow-up measures of studies in intervention and control groups were considered for
data synthesis. A random-effects model was used for estimating pooled effect sizes. To
investigate the source of heterogeneity, predefined subgroup analyses were performed
using trial duration, baseline HbA1c (mmol/mol) level, and the age of participants. Metaregression
was performed to examine the contribution of trial duration, baseline HbA1c (mmol/mol) level, the age of participants, and mean differences of HbA1c (mmol/mol) level.
The significant level was considered P < 0.05.
Results: Eighteen studies with 2384 participants met the inclusion criteria. The pooled main
outcomes by random-effects model showed significant improvements in HbA1c (mmol/
mol) 5.35% (95% confidence interval ¼ 6.3, 4.40; P < 0.001) with the evidence of heterogeneity
across studies.
Conclusion: The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that theory- and model-based lifestyle
interventions have positive effects on HbA1c (mmol/mol) indices in patients with type
2 diabetes. Health education theories have been applied as a useful tool for lifestyle change
among people with type 2 diabetes |