Association between physical activity propensity and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in type 1 diabetes: evidence from a single-centre study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate whether recent physical activity (PA), assessed in a real-world outpatient setting, is associated with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in individuals with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: Sixty-six patients with type 1 diabetes were tested for CAN using cardiovascular reflex tests. PA level was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and patients were classified into low, moderate, or high PA groups. RESULTS: PA was low in 13 (19.7%), moderate in 19 (28.8%) and high in 34 (51.5%) patients. Fisher's exact test conducted to examine the relationship between PA groups and diabetic CAN categories revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) being absent in 67.7% and early in 29.4% of the patients belonging to the high PA group. In addition, engagement in at least 600 MET minutes per week was independently associated with a lower probability of having CAN (OR = 0.131, 95% CI: 0.017-0.986, p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of self-reported physical activity are associated with a reduced likelihood of CAN in patients with type 1 diabetes. These findings support the importance of promoting regular PA as part of routine diabetes care.