Effects of behavior-modifying education in the metabolic profile of the Type 2 diabetes mellitus patient Carlos Enrique Cabrera-Pivaral*, Guillermo Gonza Âlez-Pe Ârez, Guadalupe Vega-Lo Âpez, Mercedes Gonza Âlez-Hita, Mayari Centeno-Lo Âpez, Manuel Gonza Âlez-Ortiz, Esperanza Martõ Ânez-Abundis, Alejandro Gonza Âlez Ojeda Unit of Clinical Epidemiology Research, Hospital of Specialties Centro Me Âdico Nacional de Occidente, Mexican Social Security Institute, Guadalajara, Mexico Center of Population, Human Development, and Health Studies, Department of Social Sciences and Department of Physiology, University Center of Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico Received 9 June 1999; accepted 9 May 2000 Abstract To demonstrate the advantages of behavior-modifying education in the metabolic profile of the type-2 diabetes mellitus patient. A quasi-experimental study was performed with a control group. The experimental group was made up of 25 type-2 diabetic patients and the control group consisted of 24. The type of education carried out was a behavior modification. Baseline measurements and subsequent monthly measurements of serum glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides were carried out during 9 months after the intervention. The groups were controlled according to age and sex. The statistical analysis was performed using the Student's and Wilcoxon's test to determine the difference. The experimental group in comparison with the control group in the measurement after the intervention achieved a mean difference in serum glucose of 64.2 mg/dl ( p = 0.001), in the cholesterol of 31.6 ( p = 0.008), and in the triglycerides of 50.8 ( p = 0.006). The behavior-modifying education is a better option than traditional intervention for metabolic control in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients. D 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Intervention; Behavior-modifying; Education; Diabetes 1. Introduction Health education is a social process that is nourished from the myriad of theories, methods, and knowledge offered by medical sciences and education, with which the health± illness process and its relationship with human behavior is analyzed, searching for the elements that favor health aware- ness. This process is orchestrated with reflection and actions through the community health dynamics (Novoa, 1984). In spite of the great achievements in preventive medicine, there are still limitations related to cultural and educational factors in the community (Novoa, 1984; Salleras San Martõ Â, 1990). There are also factors in the people who receive the educational messages, and technical factors in the production and transmission of the messages that limit the comprehen- sion of them (Novoa, 1984; Salleras San Martõ Â, 1990). The profile of the type-2 diabetes mellitus patient is characterized by exogenous obesity and bad nutritional habits conditioned by the social, economic, educational, cultural, psychological, and political environment in which people evolve. The structuring of a hygienic and dietetic educational plan for diabetic patients can be the road that demon- strates the benefits of behavior-modifying education for metabolic control. The aim of this investigation was to demonstrate the advantages of behavior-modifying education in the meta- bolic profile of type-2 diabetes mellitus patients. 2. Material and methods A quasi-experimental study was performed in 49 type-2 diabetic ambulatory patients without insulin treatment, and interested in participating in an educational intervention * Corresponding author. Tel.: +52-1-3-121-0345. E-mail address: carlose@mail.udg.mx (C.E. Cabrera-Pivaral). 1056-8727/00/$ ± see front matter D 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII:S1056-8727(00)00077-5 Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications 14 (2000) 322 ± 326