title: Prevalence of type 2 diabetes and physical activity status in elderly men and women from Cyprus (the MEDIS Study).
abstract: Our aim is to investigate the association of being physically active on the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus among elderly people. We enrolled 53 men and 97 women, aged 65 to 100, from various areas of Cyprus. Physical activity was evaluated through a validated questionnaire (the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ). Prevalence of diabetes was 26% in men and 18% in women, while 55% of men and 50% of women were reported as being moderately or vigorously active. Furthermore, 5% of the participants reported that they smoked, 4% had stopped smoking, and 8% reported alcohol consumption. People in the upper tertile of the IPAQ score were 0.26 times less likely to have diabetes (p < 0.05); on the other hand people in the lower tertile of the score were 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes (p < 0.05). Our findings support the notion of a beneficial effect of physical activity on the burden of diabetes in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition Science & Dietetics, Harokopio University of Athens, Athens, Greece. dbpanag@hua.gr
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Panagiotakos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polystipioti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Polychronopoulos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003535:Cyprus; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires