Role of exercise for type 2 diabetic patient management.

BACKGROUND: Exercise is integral to the management of type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, the majority of adults with type 2 diabetes do not engage in regular exercise. METHODS: Three hundred patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly selected from a patient pool of diabetic patients encountered in 1996 at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Medical records from October 1996 to June 1999 were reviewed. Information about exercise, alcohol intake, smoking, medications, laboratory results, and other variables was extracted from medical records. Patients with mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 8.0 (good diabetic control) were compared with those who had poor diabetic control (mean (HbA1c) > or = 8.0). The effect of exercise in the management of type 2 diabetes was assessed. RESULTS: After adjustment for other variables, patients without exercise had an odds ratio of 2.71 (95% CI, 1.38-5.32) for poor diabetic control compared with patients with exercise. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exercise by itself is important for type 2 diabetes management.