Kerala Diabetes Prevention Program (K-DPP)

The Kerala Diabetes Prevention Program (K-DPP) is a cluster randomised controlled trial of a culturally tailored and group-based lifestyle intervention program. K-DPP targets individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in 60 neighbourhoods from a rural area of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala State, India. Globally, India has the largest number of individuals with T2DM (>51 million) and this is expected to double by 2030. While management of those already diagnosed with T2DM is very important, identifying those at high risk for developing T2DM and preventing or delaying the onset of the disease is urgently needed. Therefore, K-DPP targets the prevention of T2DM through a combination of individual-, community- and population-based interventions.

Study aims:
(i) To implement and evaluate the K-DPP and its impact on T2DM incidence at 36 months compared with a standard care control group.
(ii) To identify individual-, household-, and neighbourhood-level factors likely to affect the wider system-wide uptake of K-DPP in India and other developing countries in the future.
(iii) To estimate the population health impact and cost-effectiveness of screening and intervention in reducing the incidence of T2DM in a developing country with a very high prevalence of T2DM.

Primary outcomes:
The development of type 2 diabetes incidence

Secondary outcomes:
Glycaemic control
Lipid profiles and blood pressure
Anthropometric measurements
Behavioural and psychosocial risk factors.

Chief Investigators
Professor Brian Oldenburg, Monash University
Professor KR Thankappan, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST)
Associate Professor Robyn Tapp, Imperial College London
Professor Paul Zimmet, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
Associate Professor Damien Jolley, Monash University
Professor Bruce Hollingsworth, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University 
Professor Ed Fisher, University of North Carolina

Associate Investigators
Professor Ajay Mahal
Professor Srinath Reddy
Dr Emily Williams
Associate Professor Rory Wolfe
Associate Professor Jonathan Shaw
Adjunct Professor Pilvikki Absetz
Professor Sivasankaran Sivasubramonian

Project Manager (Melbourne)
Naanki Pasricha