Effect of the National Diabetes Prevention Program on Weight Loss for English- and Spanish-Speaking Latinos.

PURPOSE

To study the effect of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) on weight loss in Latinos.

DESIGN

No-control, cohort study comparing Latino and non-Hispanic white (NHW) participants.

SETTING

A health-care system.

PARTICIPANTS

Five hundred sixty-seven Latino and 175 NHW patients who enrolled in the NDPP. A total of 45.2% of Latinos selected the Spanish-language NDPP.

INTERVENTION

The NDPP is a nationwide translation of a clinical trial and seeks to prevent diabetes through weight loss in a yearlong group program.

MEASURES

Independent variables included ethnicity, class language, and number of sessions attended. Main outcomes were initial attendance, number of sessions attended, and weight loss.

ANALYSIS

Multivariate logistic regression and analysis of covariance were used to determine differences in NDPP outcomes by ethnicity, language, and number of sessions attended.

RESULTS

Mean attendance was 8.60 of 22 sessions. Each session was associated with 0.30% (±0.02; P < .001) body weight loss. Latinos were half as likely to attend as NHWs, odds ratio 0.52 ( P < .001). Latino attendees came to 2.67 ± 0.63 ( P < .001) fewer sessions than NHWs. There were no weight loss differences by ethnicity after controlling for attendance. Outcomes did not differ among Latinos in the English- and Spanish-language NDPP.

CONCLUSION

Latinos appeared to benefit less from the NDPP compared to NHWs, likely due to lower attendance rates. Further efforts are needed to support their participation.