[Association Between Physical Activity and Glycemic Control in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes During the COVID-19...

The COVID-19 pandemic generated restriction in access to health check-ups for chronic illnesses, including type 2 diabetes (T2D), in addition to generating poor adherence to physical activity (PA) recommendations.

To characterize patients with T2D regarding self-reported compliance with physical activity (PA), metabolic parameters, nutritional status, and adherence to diet during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to analyze the association between self-reported adherence to PA with T2D compensation, nutritional status, and adherence to dietary recommendations.

3,236 patients who attended their cardiovascular health program appointments were included in the study. Data for comorbidity, anthropometric measurements and health markers, were extracted from statistical clinical records. Compensation was determined by the value of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

17.6% of the patients with T2D reported meeting current PA recommendations. Active individuals presented greater compensation of T2D than inactive individuals (50.3% vs 39.0%; p<0.001). Among individuals with compensated T2D those who were active had lower body weight (76.5 kg vs 81.4 kg; p<0.001), BMI (30.5 kg/m2 vs 32.6 kg/m2; p<0.001), glycemia (111.4 mg/dl vs 119.33 mg/dl; p<0.001) and HbA1c (6.31% vs 6.38%; p=0.043). Similar differences for body weight and BMI but not for glycemia and HbA1c were observed for people with uncompensated T2D.

Patients who self-report to their health professional that they adhere to current PA recommendations, despite the restrictions generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have a higher prevalence of T2D compensation than those who do not meet current PA recommendations, along with lower values in glycemic control test, in addition to benefits such as weight and BMI control.