ISSN: 2161-1017
Abdulmoein E Al-Agha, Somayah I Alrefaie, Ihab Abd elhameed Ahmed and Douaa Ahmed El Derwi
Background and aim: Regular physical exercise (RPA) have a great role in management of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We aimed from this study to correlate between regular physical activity and glycaemic control in pediatric age group with T1DM.
Patients and methods: This is a cross-sectional study, includes 243 T1DM children and adolescents visiting pediatric diabetes clinic at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital (KAUH). Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients were all recorded. Patients were divided into two groups, good glycemic control (HbA1c<8%) and poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8%). The collected data used to examine cross-sectional association between glycaemic control (HbA1c) and physical activity
Results: There was no significant difference between two groups regarding age, gender, mother education, father education, family history of type 1 diabetes and duration of RPA ( P value>0.05 ), while there was significant difference between two groups regarding RPA and frequency of RPA /week( P value<0.05 ). We found. Lower level of HbA1c in patients with more frequent RPA (P<0.05). Patients with no RPA were at 3.5 times risk of poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8%). Patients with long duration of diabetes had higher HbA1c.
Conclusion: Children and adolescents with T1DM should be encouraged to participate regularly in physical activity which results in better glycaemic control.