Joint Impact of Physical Activity and Family History on the Development of Diabetes Among Urban Adults in Mainland China

To examine the joint influences of physical activity (PA) and family history (FH) of diabetes on subsequent type 2 diabetes (T2D), the authors pooled and analyzed data from 2 community-based urban adult prospective cohort studies in 2011 in Nanjing, China. Among 4550 urban participants, the 3-year cumulative incidence of T2D was 5.1%. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared with those with FH+ and insufficient PA, the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of developing T2D was 0.42 (0.18, 0.98) for participants with sufficient PA and FH+, 0.32 (0.22, 0.46) for participants with insufficient PA and FH-, and 0.15 (0.08, 0.28) for participants with sufficient PA and FH-. Such significant graduated associations between PA/FH and risk of developing T2D were also identified in either men or women, separately. Sufficient PA and FH- may jointly reduce the risk of developing T2D in urban Chinese adults.