Employer Talking Points (DPP)
Background:
Diabetes means that blood sugars are above normal, and if they are not lowered
through treatment serious complications can develop such as kidney disease, heart
disease and blindness. In Colorado, 1 in 17 people have diabetes.
Prediabetes means that blood sugars are higher than normal, but not high enough
to be diagnosed with type 2.
Without lifestyle changes such as weight loss and increased physical activity, most
people with prediabetes will get type 2 diabetes within 5 to 6 years.
It is estimated that 1 in 3 people in Colorado have prediabetes. For a company with
100 employees, 33 have prediabetes. If current trends continue in regards to
prediabetes, it is estimated that 1 in 3 U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050.
Prevention:
The Diabetes Prevention Program, promoted by the CDC, is the premier evidencebased program to prevent diabetes.
It is currently covered by both UnitedHealthCare and Kaiser Permanente in
Colorado.
The Diabetes Prevention Program or DPP can be offered at the worksite or at
community-based organizations such as the YMCA. Community-based
organizations with a wide reach are needed to get this program to the population
who needs it (1 in 3 adults).
In Colorado, there are presently 17 organizations who have trained lifestyle coaches
to offer this program. These lifestyle coaches, who do not have to be health
professionals, facilitate weekly group sessions for 16 weeks followed by monthly
classes for the remainder of the year. These classes focus on healthy eating,
physical activity and goal setting.
This program has proven outcomes demonstrated through clinical trials conducted
by the Centers of Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.
Participants who lose 5 to 7% of their body weight (14# for a 200# person) and
increase exercise to 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes a day 5x/wk significantly
reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
And by delaying or preventing diabetes you will decrease absenteeism and increase
productivity and staff retention.
Preventing and delaying type 2 diabetes also decreases healthcare costs for the
average medical costs for a person with diabetes are nearly twice those of a person
without diabetes.
Early Intervention Strategies:
The prevalence of prediabetes in our adult population is 1 in 3. The risk factors,
which are also the eligibility factors for the DPP include:
-
being overweight or obese
being sedentary
being over the age of 45
having a family history of diabetes
having a history of gestational diabetes
Prediabetes can also be diagnosed with a blood sugar test through a provider or a
health screening.
Our ask to employers are threefold:
1. Educate your employees about prediabetes. Use your pre-existing communication
channels for health and wellness topics to raise awareness of prediabetes and the
Diabetes Prevention Program. Let your employees know they can call 1-800DIABETES to find a Diabetes Prevention Program in their area.
2. Consider modifying your health risk assessment to include prediabetes.
3. Discuss the Diabetes Prevention Program with your health plan- could it be
included as a covered benefit?
At CDPHE we will continue to educate health plans about this program and the
importance of preventing and delaying type 2 diabetes. Our goal is that more health
plans will cover this program.
Disease Management:
All of the healthy eating and active living worksite wellness strategies will help an
employee diagnosed with diabetes to manage his disease. That employee can also
access Diabetes Self-Management Education which is covered by health plans. So
we encourage employers to support their employees with the time they need to
receive this education.
But what I think is critical to remember, is that 1 in 3 of our adult population has
prediabetes, and this is a window of opportunity for that individual to make healthy
lifestyle changes and significantly decrease their chances of getting type 2 diabetes.
If they do nothing, approximately two-thirds will convert to type 2 diabetes within 5 to
6 years, and all of the costs associated with that disease, but if they lose 5 to 7% of
their body weight and start to exercise 30 minutes/day, 5 days a week through the
Diabetes Prevention Program, they can decrease their chances of getting type 2
diabetes by 58%.