Diabetes Prevention Program Translation in the Veterans Health Administration

Introduction This clinical demonstration trial compared the effectiveness of the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Prevention Program (VA-DPP) with an evidence-based usual care weight management program (MOVE!^®) in the Veterans Health Administration health system. Design Prospective, pragmatic, non-randomized comparative effectiveness study of two behavioral weight management interventions. Setting/participants Obese/overweight Veterans with prediabetes were recruited from three geographically diverse VA sites between 2012 and 2014. Intervention VA-DPP included 22 group-based intensive lifestyle change sessions. Main outcome measures Weight change at 6 and 12 months, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at 12 months, and VA health expenditure changes at 15 months were assessed using VA electronic health record and claims data. Between- and within-group comparisons for weight and HbA1c were done using linear mixed-effects models controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, baseline outcome values, and site. Analyses were conducted in 2015–2016. Results A total of 387 participants enrolled (273 VA-DPP, 114 MOVE!). More VA-DPP participants completed at least one (73.3% VA-DPP vs 57.5% MOVE! p=0.002); four (57.5% VA-DPP vs 42.5% MOVE!, p=0.007); and eight or more sessions (42.5% VA-DPP vs 31% MOVE!, p=0.035). Weight loss from baseline was significant at both 6 (p<0.001) and 12 months (p<0.001) for VA-DPP participants, but only significant at 6 months for MOVE! participants (p=0.004). Between groups, there were significant differences in 6-month weight loss (–4.1 kg VA-DPP vs –1.9 kg MOVE!, p<0.001), but not 12-month weight loss (–3.4 kg VA-DPP vs –2.0 kg MOVE!, p=0.16). There were no significant differences in HbA1c change or outpatient, inpatient, and total VA expenditures. Conclusions VA-DPP participants had higher participation rates and weight loss at 6 months, but similar weight, HbA1c, and health expenditures at 12 months compared to MOVE! participants. Features of VA-DPP may help enhance the capability of MOVE! to reach a larger proportion of the served population and promote individual-level weight maintenance.