Association of physical activity with total and cause-specific mortality in patients with diabetes: A nationwide population-based cohort study

Aims: Physical inactivity is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, little is known about its association with mortality due to other causes. Herein, we investigated the association between physical activity (PA) and cause-specific mortality in patients with T2DM. Methods: We analyzed data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service and claims database of adults with T2DM aged >20 years at baseline (n = 2,651,214). Each participant's PA volume was measured as the metabolic equivalent of tasks (METs)-min per week, and hazard ratios of all-cause and cause-specific mortality relative to PA levels were estimated. Results: During the 7.8 years of follow-up, all-cause, CVD, respiratory, cancer, and other causes of mortality were lowest in patients engaged in vigorous PA. MET-min/week was inversely associated with mortality after adjusting for covariates. The reduction in total and cause-specific mortality was greater in patients aged ≥65 years than in those aged <65 years. Conclusions: Increasing PA may facilitate a reduction in mortality from various causes, especially among older patients with T2DM. Clinicians should encourage such patients to increase their daily PA levels to reduce their risk of mortality.