Patterns of health enhancing physical activity in older patients with diabetes mellitus.

Physical inactivity in older diabetes patients. ▪ We aimed to examine self-reported physical activity (PA) and sitting time (ST) in older patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in daily clinical practice, and their associations with metabolic health, namely body mass index (BMI) and glycemic control (HbA1c). This cross-sectional cohort non-exposure study included 117 patients (n = 29 T1D and n = 88 T2D), aged 71.6 ± 1.1 years, on insulin regimens. Statistical analyses were conducted on data gathered with the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire. T1D patients reported a longer duration of weekly physical activity and shorter duration of sitting time compared to T2D patients (active 162 ± 32 vs 72 ± 12 minutes weekly; sedentary 4.4 ± 0.7 vs 6.7 ± 0.9 hours daily, respectively) (P < 0.01 for both). PA was negatively associated with BMI in T1D (r = –0.5; P < 0.01). ST was positively associated with BMI in T2D (r = 0.2; P < 0.05). Only the (T2D + T1D) patients who achieved > 1500 metabolic equivalent-minutes weekly had significantly lower HbA1c (7.9 ± 1.6% vs.7.3 ± 1.2% (P < 0.05). Physical inactivity was associated with a higher BMI in a real-world cohort of older patients with diabetes, on insulin treatment. Beneficial effects of PA on glycemic control were observed only in the highly active subgroup. Assessing and addressing health-enhancing physical activity should be integrated into everyday clinical practice, since encouraging different modes of physical activity and interrupting sitting behavior has potential health implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]