Exploring the Relationship Between Diabetes and Physical Activity Behaviours: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007-2017)

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2020-05-12
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Background: Diabetes Canada clinical practice guidelines recommend that individuals with type 2 diabetes accumulate a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and reduce the amount of time spent sedentary. To our knowledge, there are no nationally-representative studies in Canada that have used objectively-measured physical activity data to assess the associations between physical activity and sociodemographic characteristics or cardiometabolic measures in people with type 2 diabetes. Thus, the objectives of this thesis were to (1) evaluate the associations between physical activity, sedentary time and cardiometabolic health and (2) evaluate the associations between physical activity, sedentary time and sociodemographic characteristics in adults with type 2 diabetes in a representative sample of the Canadian population. Methods: Cycles 1 to 5 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) were used. Participants with type 2 diabetes between 20 and 79 years of age who had at least four days of valid activity monitor wear were included. Means, medians and interquartile ranges were used to present estimates of physical activity and sedentary time. Physical activity was stratified by MVPA tertile and cardiometabolic mean values and/or proportions with 95% confidence intervals were compared. Median regression was used to evaluate the associations between 60-minute per week increment in total MVPA with hemoglobin A1c (A1C) and body mass index (BMI). Ordinal logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of achieving lower amounts of MVPA based on sociodemographic factors. Results: Only 21.5% of adults with type 2 diabetes met clinical practice guideline recommendations for physical activity. Higher amounts of MVPA and daily steps were associated with lower BMI, waist circumference and cardiometabolic risk composite score. Female sex, lower income, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, and being a current or former smoker were associated with lower levels of physical activity. Conclusions: Less than one quarter of adults with type 2 diabetes met physical activity recommendations. We identified important sociodemographic characteristics that were determinants of low levels of physical activity which should be considered by healthcare providers and policy-makers in order to inform and deliver effective physical activity interventions.
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Booth, J. (2020). Exploring the Relationship Between Diabetes and Physical Activity Behaviours: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007-2017) (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.