Shared Medical Appointments and Prediabetes: The Power of the Group.

Abstract

Shared medical appointments, which allow greater access to care and provide peer support, may be an effective treatment modality for prediabetes. We used a retrospective propensity-matched cohort analysis to compare patients attending a prediabetes shared medical appointment to usual care. Primary outcome was patient's weight change over 24 months. Secondary outcomes included change in hemoglobin A_1c, low density lipoprotein, and systolic blood pressure. The shared medical appointments group lost more weight (2.88 kg vs 1.29 kg, <i>P</i> = .003), and achieved greater reduction in hemoglobin A_1c (-0.87% vs +0.87%, <i>P</i> = .001) and systolic blood pressure (-4.35 mmHg vs +0.52 mmHg, <i>P</i> = .044). The shared medical appointment model can be effective in treating prediabetes.