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Level of physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes

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Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is the predominant endocrine disorder worldwide, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a latent epidemic due to rising statistics and the progression of the disease. One approach for managing diabetes and mitigating associated complications entails regular moderate-intensity physical activity. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) constitutes one of the most comprehensive frameworks for modifying physical activity behavior. To establish an effective foundation for interventions aimed at initiating, augmenting, and sustaining physical activity behavior, the physical activity level of patients with type 2 diabetes needs to be examined. As such, the current study investigated the physical activity level of individuals with type 2 diabetes according to the stages of change model.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study included 360 patients with type 2 diabetes selected via convenience sampling. Data were collected using three tools: a demographic information questionnaire, the constructs of the Stages of Exercise Change Questionnaire Survey (SECQS) to assess stages of change, and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) to evaluate physical activity levels. Following data collection, statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 22 software. Descriptive statistics, including the mean and standard deviation, were generated. Inferential and analytical tests such as chi-square tests, independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and non-parametric tests were also employed.

Results

The present study found a mean age of 62.43 ± 13.89 years among participants, with females comprising 53.3% and males 46.7%. The largest proportion of patients (53.26%) were in the pre-contemplation stage of change, while the smallest proportion (4.25%) were in the maintenance stage. Regarding physical activity levels, the highest frequency (56.66%) pertained to individuals engaging in a minimum of 10 continuous minutes of walking or cycling per week. The lowest frequency (9.63%) was related to those performing heavy physical activities. Additionally, there were statistically significant associations between the variables of age, education level, disease duration, and regular exercise levels (P < 0.001).

Discussion

The findings demonstrated that approximately 70% of individuals were in the pre-contemplation and contemplation stages of change. Additionally, the physical activity level among diabetic patients was determined to be unfavorable. Given the concomitant growth in the diabetes patient population and the emphasis on the role of physical activity in preventing cardiovascular disease and diabetes-related complications, the results underscore opportunities to design and implement educational programs targeting the improvement of physical activity levels in this patient group.

Highlights

The study found that approximately 70% of individuals were in the pre-contemplation ‎and contemplation stages of change.‎.

Physical activity levels among individuals with diabetes were determined to be low based ‎on the results.‎.

Plain language summary

Diabetes mellitus poses a considerable global health burden. The current study sought to examine physical activity levels among patients with type 2 diabetes according to the Transtheoretical Model’s stages of change framework. Findings demonstrated that approximately 70% of individuals were in the pre-contemplation or contemplation stages, indicating more work is warranted to propel patients through the stages towards regular physical activity adoption.

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Data Availability

The data that support the results of this study are available by [Mahdie Bahrami] but there are restrictions on the availability of this data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of [Mahdie Bahrami].

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Funding

The researchers consider it necessary to express their gratitude to the Deputy of Research and Technology and the School of Nursing and Midwifery of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Because they supported this research in the form of an approved plan and funded the design of the study, the collection, and interpretation of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

    Mohammad Amerzadeh, Bahareh Yousefi & Omid Taherkhani

  2. Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qazvin University of Medical Science, Qazvin, Iran

    Mahdie Bahrami & Fatemeh Samie

  3. Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qazvin University of Medical Science, Qazvin, Iran

    Marzieh Khatooni

  4. Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

    Zahra Hosseinkhani

Authors
  1. Mohammad Amerzadeh
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  2. Mahdie Bahrami
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  3. Fatemeh Samie
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  4. Marzieh Khatooni
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  5. Zahra Hosseinkhani
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  6. Bahareh Yousefi
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  7. Omid Taherkhani
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Contributions

This study substantial contributions to the conception design of the work MB and FS, the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data ZH and MB; the creation of new software used in the work BY, and OT; have drafted the work or substantively revised it MB, MA and MKH. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahdie Bahrami.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The ethical principles observed by the researchers included obtaining permission from the Ethics Committee of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (code:IR.QUMS.REC.1400.219). In addition, written informed consent from all the participants were obtained and they were granted the right to withdraw. The principles of anonymity and confdentiality were applied and the participants were provided with the results upon their request. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences and all methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

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Not Applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests regarding the present study.

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Amerzadeh, M., Bahrami, M., Samie, F. et al. Level of physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes. J Diabetes Metab Disord (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-023-01333-y

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