Differences of physical activity between screen-detected type 2 diabetics, known type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics

Differences of physical activity between screen-detected type 2 diabetics, known type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics Jaana Karjalainen University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Health Sciences, 2006 Master’s Thesis in Sports and Exercise Medicine 19 pages, 1 appendix __________________________________________________________________________________ Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly common disease worldwide, and studies have shown that among individuals with diabetes 44-68% are previously undiagnosed. They do not have a previous diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, but their fasting plasma glucose level is ≥ 7.0 mmol/l or 2 h plasma glucose in oral glucose tolerance test is ≥ 11.1 mmol/l. Regular leisure time physical activity is known to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but the potential impact of lifestyle activity and work related physical activity is still partly uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate whether physical activity of previously undiagnosed (screen-detected) type 2 diabetics differ from physical activity of previously diagnosed (known) type 2 diabetics, and determine in which types of physical activity screen-detected type 2 diabetics differ from non-diabetics. This study is part of the cross-sectional population-based FIN-D2D survey, that studies the prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other disturbances in glucose metabolism in Finland. A random sample of 4500 subjects aged 45-74 years was invited to a health examination that included an oral glucose tolerance test. Participation rate was 62% among men and 67% among women. The physical activity was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Results were analyzed by using logistic and linear regression analysis. In women screen-detected type 2 diabetics were physically more passive than known type 2 diabetics. Age-adjusted statistically significant differences were found in the duration of physical activity sessions (P = 0.041) and the number of physical activity sessions at a moderate intensity per week (P = 0.002). The same differences were statistically significant also between screen-detected type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics women (P = 0.014 and 0.001) the non-diabetics being more active. Moreover, overall leisure time physical activity was significantly lower among screen-detected type 2 diabetics compared to non-diabetics (P = 0.001) when analyzed based on a dichotomized classification. In men there were no statistically significant differences in physical activity between screen-detected type 2 diabetics and known type 2 diabetics. Participation in leisure time physical activities (P = 0.001) and lifestyle physical activities (P = 0.014) were significantly lower among screen-detected type 2 diabetics compared to non-diabetics. A significant difference was also found in the number of physical activity session per week (P = 0.017). In conclusion, our results show that screen-detected type 2 diabetics women were physically more passive than known type 2 diabetics, but in men that difference was not seen. Non-diabetics were physically more active compared to screen-detected type 2 diabetics in both genders. This study supports the current view that regular physical activity protects against the development of type 2 diabetes, and gives also indirect evidence that in women diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and the following exercise counseling produce the desired increase of physical activity.