Shenzhu Tiaopi granule combined with lifestyle intervention therapy for impaired glucose tolerance: A randomized controlled trial

•The study showed a reduction in the conversion of impaired glucose tolerance to overt diabetes.•The Chinese Medicine and the lifestyle intervention alleviated many of the patient's symptoms.•Patients were followed-up every week by telephone or by a home visit.

SummaryObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical effects of the Shenzhu Tiaopi granule (SZTP) combined with a lifestyle intervention in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), who also had a spleen deficiency and damp overabundance syndrome (SDDOS).MethodsAfter a one-month washout period, a total of 514 patients were randomly assigned to the control (lifestyle intervention) and experimental (SZTP plus lifestyle intervention) groups, with 257 patients in each group. Patients in the control group received the lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise) for 12 months, while the patients in the experimental group were treated with SZTP plus the lifestyle intervention for 12 months. The Traditional Chinese Medicinal (TCM) symptom scores were observed in each group before and after treatment; the conversion rates from IGT to diabetes mellitus (DM) were also measured.ResultsFollowing 12 months of treatment, the conversion rate from IGT to DM in the experimental group was significantly lower than in the control group (8.52% vs. 15.28%, P < 0.05). A significantly higher number of patients with IGT reverted to normal blood glucose levels in the experimental group than in the control group (42.15% vs. 32.87%, P < 0.05). In addition, after following the treatment for 12 months, the TCM symptoms of patients in the experimental group were markedly alleviated, as compared to the control group (P < 0.01).ConclusionThe combination of SZTP and lifestyle intervention showed a reduction in the conversion from IGT to DM, and an increase in the conversion from IGT to normal blood glucose levels.