Association between Intensity Levels of Physical Activity and Glucose Variability among Children and Adolescents with...

Studies would indicate a reduction in hemoglobin A1c levels following moderate and/or vigorous physical activity (PA) for people managing diabetes. However, prior investigations rarely looked at glucose variability in an adolescent population.

The purpose of this investigation was to test the relationship between physical activity intensity levels and glucose variability in a sample of adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus, and if the amount of time accumulated for each intensity level is predictive of changes in glucose variability.

Glucose variability was determined using continuous glucose monitor data and physical activity intensity time was retrieved through Fitabase^®. Both glucose and physical activity data were collected over a two-week timeframe. Data analysis was completed using Pearson's correlation and a simple linear regression with a p-value of 0.05 to determine significance.

A significant inverse relationship was observed (p = 0.04) between glucose variability and average minutes of daily moderate-intensity activity (r = -0.59), as well as moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) combined (r = -0.86; p = 0.03). A simple linear regression indicated that only MVPA was a significant predictor of glucose variability (β = -0.12; 95% CI: -0.23--0.01, p = 0.03).

These data demonstrated that the total amount of daily physical activity is important when properly managing type 1 diabetes mellitus, but time spent in MVPA over two weeks may have an inverse relationship with glucose variability in children and adolescents over a span of two weeks.