As DiaRem score increases, proportion of patients experiencing remission decreases
WEDNESDAY, April 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — For patients with type 2 diabetes, the DiaRem score can identify those who are likely to be cured by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, according to a research letter published online April 20 in JAMA Surgery.
G. Craig Wood, from the Geisinger Health System in Danville, and colleagues conducted an electronic health record review up to eight years after RYGB surgery for 407 patients with type 2 diabetes. The DiaRem score (a weighted score based on age, insulin dependence, diabetes medication use, and hemoglobin A1c level) and extent of diabetes remission after surgery were determined for each of the patients, with a median follow-up of 7.1 years.
The researchers found that 35 and 24 percent of the patients experienced one or more years of complete and partial remission, respectively. Diabetes cure occurred in 20 percent, and another 25 percent experienced prolonged partial remission. As DiaRem scores increased, the proportion of patients achieving remission decreased, for remissions of any duration (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients achieving partial remission was 82 percent among patients with a DiaRem score of 0 to 2, compared with 0 percent among those with a score of 18 or higher; for diabetes cured, the corresponding proportions were 50 and 0 percent.
“The DiaRem score predicts who will be cured by surgery, defined as complete remission lasting at least five years,” the authors write.
The study was funded by Geisinger Clinic.
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