To evaluate the effects of combined low glycemic index(LGI) and low glycemic load(LGL) diet intervention on glucose and lipid metabolism in community patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).

A total of 105 patients with T2DM were enrolled from 3 different communities in Changsha city in this study, 35 T2DM patients in each community with met inclusion criteria. The three communities were randomly divided into the whole day diet intervention group (group A), breakfast intervention group (B group) and control group (group C) by draw lots. The patients with T2DM in group A and group B received 3 months combined LGI and LGL diet intervention at the basis of keeping the original regimen. All the subjects in the study were tested fasting blood glucose(FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2 hPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) before and after dietary intervention. The quantitative data obeying normal distribution were compared with one-way analysis of variance.

Multiple independent sample Kruskal-Wallis H test showed that the HbA1c of three groups improved after the intervention(all P<0.05), and it was better in group A than that in group B and C(H=26.749, P<0.0167). The HDL-C in the three groups decreased significantly after the intervention(all P<0.05), and it decreased further in group A than that in group B and C (H=12.671, P< 0.0167). The metabolism of TG in patients with T2DM of the three groups improved significantly when compared with those before intervention(all P<0.01), and it was better in group A and B than that in group C (H=14.921, P<0.05).

Combined LGI and LGL diet intervention can effectively improve HbA1c, HDL-C and TG of the patients with T2DM, especially the whole day diet intervention is more effective than only breakfast diet intervention.

Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Glycemic index; Glycemic load; Glucolipid metabolism