Association of physical activity on blood glucose in individuals with type 2 diabetes

Regular physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve glycemic control in persons with type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of PA on blood glucose after controlling for medication use, demographics, and week of activation using a real-world population of individuals with type 2 diabetes. A longitudinal, retrospective study was performed evaluating weekly PA of Livongo members (N = 9,509), which analyzed fasting blood glucose (FBG), step counts, and daily active minutes. Linear mixed-effect modeling technique was used to investigate within member and between member effects of input variables on average weekly FBG. Of members enrolled, 6,336 (32%) had self-reported body mass index, qualified week with diabetes medications, and FBG measures. Members' baseline average age was 49.4 (SD 10.1) years old, 43% female, and 45,496 member weeks with an average of 7.2 qualified weeks (PA observable in ≥4 days) per member. Average weekly FBG was 140.5 mg/dL (SD 39.8), and average daily step counts were 4,833 (SD 3,266). Moving from sedentary (<5,000 steps per day) to active (≥5,000 steps per day) resulted in mean weekly FBG reduction of 13 mg/dL (95% CI: -22.6 to -3.14). One additional day of ≥8,000 steps reduced mean weekly FBG by 0.47 mg/dL (95% CI: -0.77 to -0.16). Members who completed 30 min of moderate to vigorous PA above the population average reduced mean weekly FBG by 7.7 mg/dL (95% CI: -13.4 to -2.0). PA is associated with a mean weekly FBG reduction of 13 mg/dL when changing from a sedentary to active lifestyle while participating in a remote diabetes monitoring program.