Researchers continue to analyze data from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) for more information on the roles of diet and exercise and metformin in preventing type 2 diabetes. Researchers are also still monitoring participants to learn more about the study’s long-term effects. For example:

• A new analysis revealed in 2005 that the eye disease diabetic retinopathy had been detected in nearly 8 percent of the prediabetic participants and 12 percent of subjects who became diabetic during the three-year DPP.

• A follow-up study released in 2006 found antidepressants to be a risk factor for diabetes. Some studies have shown depression to be more common in people with diabetes or prediabetes, and researchers are cautioning that the benefits of antidepressants can outweigh the risks. Patients taking antidepressants may be advised to have glucose tests more often or to begin early treatment with medication or other interventions.

• Women in the DPP lifestyle intervention group (weight loss through diet and exercise) had less risk of urinary incontinence than those in the metformin or placebo groups, researchers reported in 2006. 

Other analyses will attempt to:

• Determine the separate contributions of diet and exercise to the reduction in diabetes.
  
  
• Determine the effect of metformin and diet and exercise on the development of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, diabetic angiopathy and coronary artery disease.

In addition, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is encouraging new research to explore cost–effective methods of providing lifestyle modifications in group settings and over the Internet, as well as methods to maintain behavior changes and weight loss.

Follow-up projects include the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study (DDPOS) and the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study of how diet and exercise affect cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes. The agency is seeking to build on the DPP with major new studies of diabetes in children.