A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of the Food Order Behavioral Intervention in Prediabetes.

(1) Background: Prior research in individuals with overweight/obesity and prediabetes or type 2 diabetes has shown that the ingestion of protein-rich food and non-starchy vegetables before concentrated carbohydrates (a carbohydrate-last food order) led to lower postprandial glucose excursions over 180 min, compared to eating the same foods in the reverse order. To expand upon this research, we sought to examine the feasibility and impact of carbohydrate-last food order behavioral intervention on glucose tolerance (GT), HbA1c, weight, and nutrient intake in adults with prediabetes in the real world over a 16-week span. (2) Methods: A total of 45 adults with overweight/obesity and prediabetes were randomized to receive 4-monthly standard nutritional counseling (C) or standard nutritional counseling plus carbohydrate-last food order counseling (FO) sessions (NCT# NCT03896360). (3) Results: The FO group decreased in body weight (-3.6 ± 5.7 lbs, p = 0.017), and trended toward lower HbA1c (-0.1 ± 0.2, p = 0.054). The C group weight trended lower (-2.6 ± 6.8 lbs, p = 0.102) without altering HbA1c (-0.03 ± 0.3, p = 0.605). GT was unchanged in both groups after 16 weeks. Changes in weight, HbA1c, and GT were similar between groups. Sensitivity analysis of pre-COVID participants showed significant weight loss in the FO group (-5.9 ± 5.3 lbs, p = 0.003) but not in C group (-1.0 ± 6.8 lbs, p = 0.608). After 16 weeks, the C group significantly reduced its daily intake of calories, fat, protein, and grains whereas the FO group increased its daily intake of vegetables and protein. There were 17 (94%) FO participants that reported high intervention adherence and 13 (72%) reported it was easy to eat protein/vegetables before carbohydrates. (4) Conclusions: A carbohydrate-last food order is a feasible behavioral strategy in individuals with prediabetes that improves diet quality, notably increasing protein and vegetable intake.

Preadmission predictors of severe COVID-19 in patients with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To explore predictors of severe COVID-19 disease in patients with diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study of adults with diabetes admitted for COVID-19. Bivariate tests and multivariable Cox regression were used to identify risk factors for severe COVID-19, defined as a composite endpoint of intensive care unit admission/intubation or in-hospital death. RESULTS: In 1134 patients with diabetes admitted for COVID-19, more severe disease was associated with older age (HR 1.02, p<0.001), male sex (HR 1.28, p=0.017), Asian race (HR 1.34, p=0.029 [reference: white]), and greater obesity (moderate obesity HR 1.59, p=0.015; severe obesity HR 2.07, p=0.002 [reference: normal body mass index]). Outpatient diabetes medications were not associated with outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Age, male sex, Asian race, and obesity were associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease in adults with type 2 diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19. SUMMARY: In patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19 disease, we observed that age, male sex, Asian race, and obesity predicted severe COVID-19 outcomes of intensive care unit admission, intubation, or in-hospital death. The risk conferred by obesity increased with worsening obesity. Outpatient diabetes medications were not observed to be significant predictors of study outcomes.