Evaluation of the Benefit at 6 Months of a 3 Weeks Spa Treatment in the Type 2 Diabetic Patient.

In recent years, many medical decision support software (diagnostic or therapeutic) have emerged to help doctors in their choices. For type 2 diabetes, apart from a decision-making aid tool posted on the HAS website, the Diascope tool can be cited. A group of 12 European experts came together to create this software to help doctors when diabetic patients do not reach their goal. They worked on more than 2000 clinical scenarios and thus established therapeutic recommendations. They prioritized the recommendations in 3 levels. For each patient profile, the most appropriate therapeutic proposals appear in green, inappropriate options appear in red, and acceptable but uncertain options appear in yellow.

These two tools can help optimize patient management by finding the therapeutic strategy that is closest to the recommendations that are adapted to each patient.

Therapeutic education, which has a key role in the care of these patients, has a demonstrated impact on quality improvement. In this prospective study, the authors also found a link between improved quality of life and lower HbA1c. This study uses the Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) score. A more appropriate score allowing a customization of the elements constituting the quality of life is the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life score (ADDQOL score).

Physical activity is recommended for multiple reasons in Health. The summary of Inserm's collective expertise perfectly summarizes the benefits and the modalities of a physical activity for Health.

There are clear international recommendations on the subject of moderate physical activity of at least 150 minutes per week, for example on the World Health Organization website or in the text of the recommendations of the American College of Sport Medicine and the American Heart Association. Adaptations of these recommendations for older people are also available. Walking and cycling are the two physical activities most cited in these documents because of their progressive and mild characteristics particularly suitable for patients with rheumatological indications and / or significant overweight. However, the practice of cycling can, depending on the natural terrain, involve efforts and pressures in joints and musculotendinous too important.

This will often be the case in the natural environment of the most often hilly spas. In addition, there are many practical or psychological obstacles to cycling in a population of patients suffering from chronic pathologies: "it's too hard", "I do not know how to do it anymore", "it's for young people "," I am less strong than the others so I can not accompany them in their outings ".... The electric assistance bicycle (EVA) can then be useful. A very comprehensive report from the DGS (Direction Générale de la Santé : General Health Direction) of the Canton of Geneva takes stock of the positive impact of the dissemination of routine use of VAE (Available on http://www.impactsante.ch/pdf/EIS_VAE_2006.pdf). Still in Switzerland, J Welker, despite a provocative title, concludes that "The electric-assisted bicycle (EVA) is a physical activity in its own right and represents a means to fight sedentariness". These authors suggest from a study conducted in Lausanne that VAE even with a high attendance represents a real physical activity (> 6 MET) on hilly paths.

It has been shown on small series with real-time measurements of the effort that the VAE with strong attendance was equivalent to a brisk walk and that the VAE with moderate assistance was intermediate in terms of physical effort between brisk walking and cycling without. It has also been shown that the use of VAE can achieve the objectives recommended for the practice of physical activity.

The hydrotherapy has demonstrated its effectiveness especially for indications rheumatology and for the management of obesity (indication metabolic diseases). The benefit of the multifaceted actions implemented during a spa treatment concerns the symptoms, the reduction of pain and / or weight loss. As a result, randomized controlled trials have shown a benefit on quality of life.

Metabolic disorders and especially diabetes and overweight are an indication of thermal cures. Two studies have shown positive results of a thermal cure on metabolic disorders. The first is a multicentre study in overweight or obese subjects (8% of whom are diabetic) who has demonstrated a significant benefit on weight and body mass index (BMI) of a spa treatment and the maintenance of this condition. improvement one year later compared to a control group. The second is a monocentric study in which a disappearance of a metabolic syndrome was observed one year after a spa treatment for 50% of patients included and 76% of patients followed at one year. Finally, an improvement in weight, BMI and fasting blood glucose at the end of a spa treatment was found in a preliminary study in 21 subjects with type 2 diabetes, with a decrease of 0.5% in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) 3 months after the beginning of the treatment.

These positive data on parameters strongly correlated with diabetes (weight, BMI, metabolic syndrome), and on the glycemic parameters of a preliminary study with a small number of diabetic patients justify the completion of a multicenter study to evaluate the benefit to a patient. year of a 3 weeks spa treatment in the type 2 diabetic patient.