Internet Boards Benefit Diabetics

Nearly 75 percent of respondents said the boards helped them cope with diabetes, while 71 percent said participation helped them feel more hopeful.

A Joslin Diabetes Center study in Boston indicates diabetics benefit through participation in Internet-based diabetic discussion groups. Researchers examined the impact of Joslin’s Online Discussion Boards — Internet forums in which people with diabetes can share thoughts and experiences.

The boards (at https://www.joslin.org/) allow people to post questions or comments about their diabetes-related concerns. The postings are moderated by a team of specialists, including physicians, dietitians and psychologists.

"There’s a strong therapeutic effect from posting on the board," said lead investigator John Zrebiec, a Joslin clinical social worker and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Zrebiec tracked more than 330,000 board visits during a six-year period. In 1999 and again in 2004, satisfaction surveys were sent to some of the boards’ registered users.

Researchers say the study suggests Internet-based groups are particularly valuable since they allow people to come together at any time in a non-threatening venue for discussing particularly sensitive concerns.
The study appears in the November/December issue of The Diabetes Educator.

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DID YOU KNOW:
Exercise improves blood sugar control in diabetes: Participating in aerobic routines and resistance training is as effective as medication. People with diabetes can improve their blood sugar control by doing aerobic and resistance exercises — and the benefits are equivalent to taking a single anti-diabetes drug, a Canadian study has shown. The study involved 251 previously inactive people from age 39 to 70 who had the type 2, or adult, form of diabetes. The participants were randomly assigned to 22 weeks of aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, both types of exercise, or sedentary behavior. After six months, blood sugar levels and abdominal fat had decreased in all three exercise groups, but did not change in the sedentary group. Those who were worse off in the beginning had a more dramatic improvement. The exercise took place at local YMCAs and was supervised by personal trainers. Aerobic exercise progressed to 45 minutes three times a week at 75 per cent of maximum heart rate. Resistance training included two to three sets of eight exercises with weights, three times a week. The Medical Post

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