Gender differences in the relationship between anxiety symptoms and physical inactivity in a community-based sample of adults with type 2 diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between physical inactivity and anxiety symptoms in a community-based sample of men and women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
Eligibility criteria included residents of Quebec, Canada aged between 40 and 75 years, having a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (≤10 years), being insulin-naive and having participated in a previous telephone-based survey of diabetes treatments. Of the 2028 eligible respondents, 1953 (96.3%) provided information on anxiety symptoms and were included in this analysis. Participants were interviewed and provided information on diabetes-related clinical and sociodemographic factors.


RESULTS
A total of 27.3% of participants reported being physically inactive. The prevalence of mild to severe anxiety symptoms was 22.9%. Persons with mild anxiety symptoms and moderate to severe anxiety symptoms were 1.4 times and 1.7 times more likely to report being inactive than persons without anxiety symptoms, respectively. Subgroup analyses according to gender revealed that women who had mild anxiety symptoms were 1.5 times more likely to report being inactive compared with women who did not have anxiety symptoms, whereas men who had moderate to severe anxiety symptoms were 2.5 times more likely to be inactive than men who did not have anxiety symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Anxiety symptoms in the mild and moderate to severe range are a relevant clinical comorbidity in persons with type 2 diabetes, and men may represent a particularly vulnerable subgroup. Future research is recommended to further assess the relationship between anxiety symptoms and diabetes-related health behaviours.
Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Carla
C
Lipscombe
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Kimberley J
KJ
Smith
Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Geneviève
G
Gariépy
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Montréal Diabetes Research Centre, Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: norbert.schmitz@douglas.mcgill.ca.
Norbert
N
Schmitz
D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012737:Sex Factors
anxiety; anxiété; diabète de type 2; exercice; exercise; inactivité physique; physical inactivity; type 2 diabetes