Exercise Cuts CVD Death in Diabetes

Exercise Cuts CVD Death in Diabetes

 It is never too late to start to exercise to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Patients with type 2 diabetes who fail to exercise regularly show a 70% greater risk for cardiovascular death than those who exercise at least 3 times a week, new research shows. In particular, the data indicate significant benefits to starting to exercise after being sedentary, strongly suggesting it is never too late to get active.

These latest results, from a large follow-up study conducted in Sweden, support a growing body of evidence that patients with type 2 diabetes benefit greatly from participating in regular physical activity.

The study is also unique in that, unlike previous work in this field, it adjusts for cardiovascular risk factors and thereby elicits a clearer association between physical activity and CVD risks.

Furthermore, a subanalysis showed patients who were less physically active at both baseline and follow-up time points “had considerably higher risk estimates of 70% to 110% for coronary and cardiovascular disease and mortality than all other study subjects,” said Björn Zethelius, MD, from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, the lead author of the study.

Results also show that those in the low-activity group had a 25% greater risk for coronary and cardiovascular events than those in the higher-activity group.

Stepping up the duration and the frequency of exercise will lower the risk of cardiovascular complications and death; conversely, remaining inactive will maximize the risk in type 2 diabetes patients.

Regular physical activity should be an important part of the diabetes management plan, he stressed. “Our study findings underline the importance of implementing regular physical activity as part of lifestyle measures. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle and engage in physical activity.”

The study was published online November 13 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology

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