Physical activity level of the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending diabetes clinic at a General Hospital, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Physical activity, diet, and medication are the major treatment strategies in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Objectives of this study were to determine the level of physical activity among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the diabetes clinic in General hospital Kalutara, Sri Lanka and identifying the sociodemographic factors associated with the inactive lifestyle. A descriptive cross-sectional study was done using a systematic random sampling method from 1ˢᵗ October 2020 to 31ˢᵗ December 2020. The study instrument was a pretested (n=10) interviewer-administered questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to collect data. Chi-square test, descriptive statistics and independence t-test using SPSS (version 26) were used to analyze the data. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The total number of participants were 134. Among the participants, majority were females [76.1% (n=102)] and 36.6% (n=49) were between 51-61years. The mean total physical activity level was 5076 MET min/week. Seventy-nine participants (59%) had higher physical activity level. The means of total physical activity were nearly similar for both men (5277 MET minutes/week) and women (5013 MET minutes/week). Females gained their physical activity mostly from domestic activities while males engaged in job-related activities. There were associations between physical activity level and ethnicity (p=0.013), occupation (p=0.037) and duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus (p= 0.027). In all statistical analyses, p<0.05 were considered significant. According to study results, the patients attending to the diabetes clinic in General hospital Kalutara during the study period had a sufficient physical activity level. Regularly educating patients about the importance of physical activity and establishment of a continuous monitoring program would be of benefit in the control of diabetes. A longitudinal study on the physical activity level of the patients is recommended for future study.