ABSTRACT
In 2020, the COVID-pandemic challenged the delivery of the National DPP and presented unique stressors for participants. Since 2008, Montana's DPP has maintained a registry to track participant retention, goal achievement, and changes in cardiometabolic (CM) risk. To measure effects of the COVID pandemic on DPP outcomes in Montana, we compared data from participants in 2020 to those in 2017 - 2019. Baseline, 6 and 12-month data were available for 522 participants from 2020 and 2,313 from 2017-2019. Changes in participation and measures of CM were compared using chi-square analysis, t-test and ANOVA analysis. The average number of sessions attended was lower in 2020, 13.6, than in 2017-2019, 14.4 (p=0.02) . The average percent of body weight lost was lower in 2020 at both six-months, 3.9%, and twelve-months, 3.7%, compared to the same measurements in 2017 to 2019, 4.4% (p=0.03) and 4.4% (p=0.01) . Among CM risk measurements, significant differences occurred only for increases in the HDL cholesterol levels measured in 2020, 52.9 mg/dL baseline, 54.7 at 6 months and 56.4 at 12 months, compared to those in 2017 to 2019, 53.6, 52.9 and 55.8 (p=0.00for 6 and p=0.0087 for 12-month) (Table) . During the COVID-pandemic DPP participants continued to lose weight and achieve significant improvements in overall CM risk despite slightly less weight loss compared to participants in previous years.