The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial ("DCCT")

The DCCT is a clinical study that was conducted from 1983 to 1993, and sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The study showed that keeping blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible slows the onset and progression of eye, kidney, and nerve diseases caused by diabetes.

The DCCT was the largest, most comprehensive diabetes study ever conducted, and involved 1,441 volunteers with type 1 diabetes and 29 medical centers in the United States and Canada. Volunteers had diabetes for at least one year but no longer than 15 years.

The study compared the effects of two treatment regimens-standard therapy and intensive control-on the complications of diabetes. Volunteers were randomly assigned to each treatment group.

The DCCT concluded that lowering blood glucose reduces risk of certain diseases, as follows:

• 76% reduced risk of eye disease
• 50% reduced risk of kidney disease
• 60% reduced risk of nerve disease

DCCT results were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, September 30, 1993.