Low physical activity among middle-aged type-2 diabetic outpatients of two peripheral hospitals in Bangladesh

Physical activity (PA) is an important lifestyle recommendation for managing type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, low PA among them is a global public health concern, including Bangladesh. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of low PA levels and its associated sociodemographic factors particularly among middle-aged T2DM subjects, which is quite limited globally and unknown in Bangladesh. In this cross-sectional study, we conveniently recruited 356 T2DM subjects (aged 40-60 years) from outpatient departments of the corresponding diabetic hospitals from Pirojpur and Dinajpur, the southern and northern districts, respectively. The primary outcome was low PA (via metabolic equivalents <600), using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Univariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with low PA. Among the participants (mean age 51.0±6.9 years), men and women were with almost equal proportions (48.9% and 51.1%, respectively). The prevalence (95% Confidence Intervals [CI]) of low PA was 34.8% (29.9-39.7). The median sitting or reclining time was 6 hours on a typical day. The odds (OR [95% CI]; P) of low PA was found to be significantly higher in respondents with primary or no education compared to the above-primary level, in unadjusted (1.6 [1.1-2.6]; 0.029) and adjusted (2.0 [1.1-3.7]; 0.028) associations both. In conclusion, over one-third of the middle-aged study subjects had a low PA level, which was associated with education. There is a high demand for designing and implementing PA enhancing interventions among them.