The Effect of Food is Medicine Interventions on Diabetes-related Health Outcomes Among Low-income and Food-insecure Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aim to review the current evidence of Food is Medicine interventions on diabetes outcomes among low-income or food-insecure individuals. METHODS: Seven databases were searched from January 1, 2000 to October 26, 2021 for full-text articles written in English. The studies included experimental studies of any duration and design which addressed the effect of Food is Medicine interventions on fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) levels among low-income or food-insecure populations with prediabetes or diabetes of any age group. Only direction of effect of interventions on F&V intake were ascertained due to high variability in outcome measurement. A1C results were pooled using generic inverse variance with a fixed-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q and quantified by I2. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were included. Five of the 8 studies reported a significant increase in F&V intake. Seven of the 14 studies reported a significant decrease in A1C levels. A meta-analysis of 5 randomized controlled trials (n=843) resulted in clinically meaningful reductions in A1C compared with control (mean difference, -0.47%; 95% confidence interval, -0.66 to -0.29, I2=88%, p<0.0001). Half (n=8) of the studies have a high risk of bias due to missing data, detection bias, and confounding. CONCLUSIONS: Food is Medicine interventions are effective in increasing F&V intake and reducing A1C levels of the target population. More randomized controlled studies are needed to validate the results.

How Outpatient Diabetes Education Programs Can Support Local Hospitals to Reduce Emergency Department Visits for Adults With Diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: Our aim in this study was to assess the level of collaboration between a hospital-based outpatient diabetes education program (DEP) and emergency departments (EDs) for reducing number of ED revisits and hospital admissions by implementing intervention strategies to promote education services and streamlining referral and appointment intake processes. METHODS: Patients (≥18 years of age) with an ED visit for hyper- or hypoglycemia were analyzed in 2 cohorts based on their intervention exposure. We conducted a single-cohort analysis of the exposed cohort (exposure to the intervention strategies) and compared 2-year outcomes with those of the unexposed cohort. Primary outcomes were hyper- or hypoglycemia-related ED revisit and hospitalization rates. Process outcomes included DEP referrals and DEP attendance. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in ED revisits and hospital admissions between the exposed and unexposed cohorts. However, patients were more likely to be referred to a DEP by ED physicians (odds ratio [OR], 1.76; p=0.02) and to attend a DEP appointment (OR, 1.96; p<0.01) after intervention exposure. DEP attendees from both cohorts became less likely to revisit an ED (exposed: OR, 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 0.71; unexposed: OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.15 to 1.15) at 12-month follow up; however, this reduction was sustained only among the exposed cohort (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.81) and not the unexposed cohort (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.60 to 2.91) at 24 months (p=0.04 when comparing the 2 cohorts). CONCLUSIONS: Collaboration between outpatient DEPs with local EDs could effectively reduce diabetes-related ED revisits by increasing diabetes program utilization.

Emerging practices supporting diabetes self-management among food insecure adults and families: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity undermines a patient's ability to follow diabetes self-management recommendations. Care providers need strategies to direct their support of diabetes management among food insecure patients and families. OBJECTIVE: To identify what emerging practices health care providers can relay to patients or operationalize to best support diabetes self-management among food insecure adults and families. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Food insecure populations with diabetes (type 1, type 2, prediabetes, gestational diabetes) and provided diabetes management practices specifically for food insecure populations. Only studies in English were considered. In total, 21 articles were reviewed. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: Seven databases: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medline, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database, PsychInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science. RESULTS: Emerging practices identified through this review include screening for food insecurity as a first step, followed by tailoring nutrition counseling, preventing hypoglycemia through managing medications, referring patients to professional and community resources, building supportive care provider-patient relationships, developing constructive coping strategies, and decreasing tobacco smoking. CONCLUSION: Emerging practices identified in our review include screening for food insecurity, nutrition counselling, tailoring management plans through medication adjustments, referring to local resources, improving care provider-patient relationship, promoting healthy coping strategies, and decreasing tobacco use. These strategies can help care providers better support food insecure populations with diabetes. However, some strategies require further evaluation to enhance understanding of their benefits, particularly in food insecure individuals with gestational and prediabetes, as no studies were identified in these populations. A major limitation of this review is the lack of global representation considering no studies outside of North America satisfied our inclusion criteria, due in part to the English language restriction.