AIMS: Diabetes treatment algorithms recommend intensive intervention in those with a shorter duration of disease. Screening provides opportunities for earlier multifactorial cardiovascular risk factor control. Using data from the ADDITION-Leicester study (NCT00318032), we estimated the effects of this approach on modelled risk of diabetes-related complications in screen-detected patients. METHODS: A total of 345 (41% South Asian) people with screen-detected type 2 diabetes were cluster randomised to receive 5 years of (1) intensive multifactorial risk factor intervention or (2) standard treatment according to national guidance. Estimated 10 to 20-year risk of ischaemic heart disease, stroke, congestive cardiac failure, and death was calculated using UK-PDS risk equations. RESULTS: Compared with standard care, mean treatment differences for intensive management at 5 years were -11.7(95%CI: -15.0, -8.4) and -6.6(-8.8, -4.4) mmHg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively; -0.27 (-0.66, -0.26) % for HbA1c; and -0.46(-0.66; -0.26), -0.34 (-0.51; -0.18), and -0.19 (-0.28; -0.10) mmol/L for total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides, respectively. There was no significant weight gain in the intensive group despite additional medication use. Modelled risks were consistently lower for intensively managed patients. Absolute risk reduction associated with intensive treatment at 10 and 20 years were 3.5% and 6.2% for ischaemic heart disease and 6.3% and 8.8% for stroke. Risk reduction for congestive heart failure plateaued after 15 years at 5.3%. No differences were observed for blindness and all-cause death. CONCLUSION: Intensive multifactorial intervention in a multi-ethnic population with screen-detected type 2 diabetes results in sustained improvements in modelled ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and congestive cardiac failure.