Role of Lifestyle Interventions in Diabetes Prevention and Management

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a persistent metabolic condition that is increasingly prevalent worldwide, posing an emerging epidemic, particularly in certain nations, with anticipated doubling of affected individuals in the next decade due to population aging. This review draws from searches in Medline, the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, and relevant publication citations, focusing on type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment. Diagnosis still relies on World Health Organization (WHO) and American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria encompassing clinical and laboratory parameters, with treatment primarily centered on lifestyle modifications, obesity management, and medications such as metformin, particularly for obese patients. Other effective medications include non-sulfonylurea secretagogues, thiazolidinediones, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, and insulin. Recent advancements in understanding type 2 DM pathophysiology have introduced new medications like glucagon-like peptide 1 analogs, dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors, and inhibitors of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2, among others. Inhaled insulin, licensed in 2006, has been withdrawn from the market due to low demand.