Background: The main purpose of the present study was to assess the relation between long-term physical activity and glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: Medical data and blood samples for the determination of glycosylated hemoglobin (glyHb) were collected in 221 consecutive type 1 diabetes patients between 18 and 45 years of age without late complications. A self-report questionnaire was used to determine the degree of physical activity. Correlation coefficients and analysis of variance were used for statistical analyses.
Results: No correlation was observed between the different levels of physical activity and glycemic control. Females showed a significantly higher total physical activity index than males (p = 0.004), mostly due to the leisure time activity index. More active patients used a lower amount of insulin (r = -0.20, p = 0.002) than less active patients.
Conclusions: Glycemic control was not found to be associated with long-term physical activity in type 1 diabetes patients. Physical activity did not negatively affect long-term glycemic control.