Occupational, commuting, and leisure-time physical activity in relation to risk for Type 2 diabetes in middle-aged Finnish men and women.
OBJECTIVE
Leisure-time physical activity can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, but the potential effect of different types of physical activity is still uncertain. This study is to examine the relationship of occupational, commuting and leisure-time physical activity with the incidence of Type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
We prospectively followed 6898 Finnish men and 7392 women of 35 to 64 years of age without a history of stroke, coronary heart disease, or diabetes at baseline. Hazards ratios of incidence of Type 2 diabetes were estimated by levels of occupational, commuting, and leisure-time physical activity.


RESULTS
During a mean follow-up of 12 years, there were 373 incident cases of Type 2 diabetes. In both men and women combined, the hazards ratios of diabetes associated with light, moderate and active work were 1.00, 0.70 and 0.74 (p=0.020 for trend) after adjustment for confounding factors (age, study year, sex, systolic blood pressure, smoking, education, the two other types of physical activity and BMI). The multivariate-adjusted hazards ratios of diabetes with none, 1 to 29, and more than 30 min of walking or cycling to and from work were 1.00, 0.96, and 0.64 (p=0.048 for trend). The multivariate-adjusted hazards ratios of diabetes for low, moderate, high levels of leisure-time physical activity were 1.00, 0.67, and 0.61 (p=0.001 for trend); after additional adjustment for BMI, the hazards ratio was no longer significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Moderate and high occupational, commuting or leisure-time physical activity independently and significantly reduces risk of Type 2 diabetes among the middle-aged general population.
Hu
G
G
Diabetes and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300 Helsinki, Finland. hu.gang@ktl.fi
Qiao
Q
Q
Silventoinen
K
K
Eriksson
J G
JG
Jousilahti
P
P
Lindström
J
J
Valle
T T
TT
Nissinen
A
A
Tuomilehto
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009790:Occupations; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014186:Transportation