Less Is More? Physical Inactivity and Increased Risk of Diabetes-Related Foot Ulceration-A Systematic Review

Those at risk of diabetes-related foot ulceration (DFU) must balance sufficient physical activity to maintain glycaemic control and cardiovascular health whilst avoiding excessive trauma to their feet. Our systematic review aimed to assess whether physical inactivity and/or sedentary behaviour affect DFU outcomes.

Embase, Medline, and Scopus were searched for peer-reviewed studies using the criteria: ('diabetes' OR 'diabetic') AND ('physical*' OR 'activ*' OR 'inactiv*' OR 'sedentary') AND 'foot' AND 'ulcer', returning 4650 results excluding duplicates. 16 studies were included and assessed for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).

Fifteen studies assessed physical inactivity and 1 assessed both inactivity and sedentary behaviour and DFU outcomes. Eleven of 16 (69%) studies reported significantly greater likelihood of DFU in inactive participants. Exploratory meta-analysis suggested physical inactivity to be associated with doubled DFU risk (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.32-3.32, p = 0.002). Evidence that sedentary behaviour was associated with tripled DFU risk was based on a single prospective cohort and had a high risk of bias (OR 2.95, 95% CI: 1.5-6.4, p = 0.008; n = 175, NOS: poor). Study methodologies were heterogenous (e.g., inconsistent definitions of inactive), with habitual physical activity measured through interviews, patient records, or questionnaires in 14 of 16 studies (NOS rating: poor to fair).

Available evidence suggested that physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour were associated with an increased risk of DFU. Further research is needed to develop thresholds for physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour to reduce DFU risk.