Efficiency and Cost-effectiveness of a Culturally Adopted Lifestyle Intervention Program - the MEDIM Study.

An increasing proportion of Sweden's population comprises non-European immigrants, who constitute a high risk-population for T2D. Numbering almost 9,000 individuals, Iraqi citizens represent the largest immigrant group in Malmoe and are identified as a risk group for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) in whom genetic and lifestyle factors probably play significant roles in the development of T2D. Several studies have shown that adoption of an active lifestyle by at-risk individuals dramatically reduces the risk of T2D. However, there are currently no established methods for providing support to high-risk individuals from different cultural and social backgrounds to help them adopt beneficial lasting lifestyle changes. Instead of just waiting for Iraqi high-risk individuals to develop T2D, this project will implement and assess lifestyle intervention programs aimed at reducing the risk of developing T2D and tailored to individuals with a different social and cultural background. The study thus seeks to optimize preventive action in health care and aims to facilitate the adoption of permanent changes in lifestyle in high-risk patients, taking account of cultural and social barriers. Since T2D is associated with a sedentary lifestyle and develops earlier in men than women and an average 10 years earlier in immigrants from the Middle East than in native Swedes, it is crucial to study pathogenic mechanisms triggering T2D development in relation to sex, lifestyle and ethnic background. The results will provide the basis for deciding how health care providers can actively work to prevent T2D and other lifestyle-associated diseases in this high-risk population that has not been studied before.