Issue 154 Item 6 Physical Activity Can Reduce CVD Risk & Mortality in Diabetic M

Physical activity is vastly underutilized in the management of diabetes. Physical activity can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality in men with type 2 diabetes, according to the results of a study published online in the April 28th rapid access edition Circulation.

Dr. Mihaela Tanasescu, of Touro University International, Cypress, California, and colleagues examined the association between physical activity and the risk of CVD and mortality in 2803 men enrolled in the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study. All of the men were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 30 years or older. The researchers assessed the subjects’ physical activity level every 2 years.

Over 14 years of follow-up, 266 new cases of CVD and 355 all-cause deaths were reported. The researchers used Cox proportional hazards analysis to estimate relative risks of CVD and death.

” The multivariate relative risks of CVD incidence corresponding to quintiles of total physical activity were 1.0, 0.87, 0.64, 0.72, and 0.67 (p for trend = 0.07),” Dr. Tanasescu and colleagues report. “The corresponding multivariate relative risks for total mortality were 1.0, 0.80, 0.57, 0.58, and 0.58 (p = 0.005).” The investigators observed an association between walking and a reduced risk of total mortality. The multivariate relative risks corresponding to quintiles of walking were 1.0, 0.97, 0.87, 0.97, and 0.57 (p for trend = 0.002). There was an inverse association between walking pace and CVD, fatal CVD, and total mortality. These findings “add evidence that physical activity reduces cardiovascular mortality in those with existing diabetes, ” Dr. Jonathan Myers of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California and colleagues note in an accompanying editorial. ” Despite the scientific evidence and the organizational efforts, these messages have not reached the public,” they add. “Physical activity is vastly underutilized in the management of diabetes, and the majority of individuals remain sedentary or do too little exercise to achieve health benefits.” Circulation 2003;107:000-000

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DID YOU KNOW: One in seven California adults suffers from or is at significant risk for diabetes, according to a large-scale study released April 30, 2003, by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The findings, put California ahead of national diabetes rates for every population segment under 65 years of age.