Changes in physical activity habits in subjects with type 1 diabetes: A comparative study 10 years apart

Physical activity (PA) is highly recommended in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Few studies have reported the amount of PA performed by individuals with T1D in their daily life, and there is no information about changes over time.

Cross-sectional study in patients with T1D from a referral hospital recruited in two different periods: data from the Biobank registers from 2009 and data from patients attending visits at the hospital in 2019, on a consecutive basis. Data included clinical characteristics and the PA assessment through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ-SF).

In 2019, participants with T1D (n=135) reported a lower sedentary lifestyle and greater levels of high PA compared to subjects with T1D (n=355) from 10 years earlier (6.7% vs. 14.1% sedentariness, p=0.015; and 52.6% vs. 25.4% of high PA, p<0.001, respectively). Similar results were identified when the groups were divided according to sex. Both groups presented similar distribution by sex (women, 54% vs. 55%), age (40 vs. 39 years old), years with diabetes (20 vs. 18 years), BMI (25 vs. 24kg/m²) and glycated haemoglobin (7.5% vs. 7.5%, respectively; p>0.05 for all comparisons). Sex and age groups were not determinant for sedentary lifestyle in the different years studied. Analysing all the 490 participants, there was an inverse correlation of age with sitting hours (p=0.024, r=-0.102), total METs (p<0.001, r=-0.146) and HbA_1c (p=0.038, r=-0.097). No correlations were found between PA and HbA_1c or BMI.

The findings indicate that PA has significantly increased in subjects with T1D over the last 10 years. Future studies are needed to assess whether these healthier habits translate into better outcomes in this high-risk population.