Massive Trump Administration Cuts to Federal Grants Halt National Diabetes Prevention Program
The 30-year program has tracked and compiled data on diabetes prevention, treatment, and outcomes, providing a foundation and insights for international research.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has cancelled crucial funding for the nationwide Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. For the last 30 years, the DPP gathered valuable data tracking patients with diabetes and prediabetes. Although the reasoning behind the move remains unclear, DPP investigators speculate this is a consequence of the Trump administration’s decision to rescind federal grants from Columbia University.1
©Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Columbia University has played an important role in this space in recent years, handling the bulk of the DPP’s funding since 2022 and administering it to sites across the US. The New York City-based Ivy League member garnered national attention last year in the wake of the war on Gaza; pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupted on campus and, from the Trump administration’s perspective, not enough was done to mitigate on-campus antisemitism.2
DPP History
The initial DPP included a Lifestyle Change Program and in the form of a randomized clinical trial investigated whether participating in the program or taking metformin could effectively prevent or lead to delays in type 2 diabetes.3 Results were very promising: Individuals reduced their risk for type 2 diabetes by 58% following program participation. In the years following, approximately 5% of those who followed the DPP Lifestyle Change Program regimen developed type 2 diabetes compared with 11% who received a placebo. Furthermore, the initiative was effective across populations regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity, and especially for participants 60 years and older (who reduced their risk by 71%). The biguanide metformin, taken twice a day at a dose of 850 mg, also contributed to a 31% decrease in risk for type 2 diabetes compared with placebo.3
Since the conclusion of the DPP Lifestyle Change Program (1996-2001), the DPP Outcomes Study (DDPOS), initiated in 2002, has continued following DPP participants in both the lifestyle and metformin groups to study whether the interventions have affected health outcomes over time. A total of 2776 participants (88%) elected to join DPPOS. Notably, at the 10-year follow-up, DPP Lifestyle Change Program participants experience a 4-year delay in diabetes onset compared with participants in the placebo group, a delay of 34%. The delay was more profound at 49% among participants aged 60 years and older.3
The DPPOS metformin group experienced delays of 18%, with diabetes developing 2 years later compared with the placebo group. Benefits related to the lifestyle program and metformin were also observed through 15 years of follow-up. Importantly, both the program and metformin were shown to be cost-effective as well as cost-saving for study participants.
Funding Cliff
A total of $400 million in funding was cut this month following the Trump order, $250 million of which was provided to the NIH.2 Grant cancellations to this degree affects far more than the DPP, with numerous oncology, health equity, COVID-19 studies, and more, taking massive hits. The chaotic and abrupt nature of the cancellations have left researchers, clinicians, and professors frantically searching for solutions to avoid discontinuing their studies. More than 400 grants were pulled from Columbia University, according to The New York Times; however, multiple institutions often collaborate in larger-scale, extensive studies, meaning these impacts will be felt far beyond Columbia University.
