A significant reduction in diabetes-related complications as
a result of diabetes education has been reported in a secondary
care setting. A systematic review of randomized controlled
trials on educational interventions for T2DM [6] showed that
studies have focused on the effect of diabetes education on
metabolic control and intake of oral hypoglycaemic treatment.
To date, only one study [12] has investigated the effect
of diabetes education on long-term cardiovascular disease
(CVD) outcomes. That authors of that study, on the effect
of the Structured Intensive Diabetes Education Programme
(SIDEP) [12] in a sample of 547 Korean patients with T2DM
in secondary care, reported that patients who took part in
the intensive diabetes education programme, at a follow-up of
>4 years, had a lower frequency of hospital admissions related to diabetic complications than those who did not take part
in the programme. It remains uncertain, however, whether
or not diabetes education in primary care settings has had a
significant impact on reducing the incidence of CVD outcomes
and mortality. There is a paucity of large population-based
studies on the long-term cardiovascular benefits associated
with diabetes education programme in a primary care setting.
A recent study [13] on the impact of a Patient Empowerment
Programme (PEP) intervention on metabolic control provided
evidence supporting the value of structured diabetes education
for patients with T2DM in primary care. Given the significant
improvements in metabolic control associated with the PEP,
we evaluated whether those benefits would translate into a
reduction in CVD events.