Abstract
Purpose :
to investigate the association between physical activity (PA) and cataract surgery among diabetic patients.
Methods :
We obtained data from all subjects aged 45-65 years old with self-reported diabetes from the baseline of the population-based 45 and Up Cohort Study, and linked it to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) till 2016. A detailed questionnaire survey was conducted at baseline during 2006-2009, including participants’ demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics. Diabetes status was determined from response to question “Has a doctor ever told you that you have diabetes”, or use of diabetic medications according to PBS. Cataract surgery was determined according to MBS. The metabolic equivalent intensity level number of PA sessions per week was used to assess PA. Cox regression was used to assess the association between PA and cataract surgery.
Results :
A total of 9113 eligible participants were included in the current analysis with a mean age of 57.3±5.2 years (43.6% female). During a mean follow-up of 8.8 years, 950 participants (10.4% of baseline) received cataract surgery with a corresponding incidence of 12.4/1000 person-years. Cox regression analysis showed that people with less PA (P=0.01), older age (P<0.001), female gender (P<0.001), higher educational level (P<0.001), longer diabetic duration (P<0.001), and taking insulin (P<0.001) had significantly higher cataract surgery risk during the follow-up. Participants with a PA level of ≥14 sessions per week had 19% decreased risk of cataract surgery compared to those with <5 sessions. In addition, stratification analysis showed that a PA level of ≥14 sessions per week was significantly associated with a lower cataract surgery risk in participants with obesity (Hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.98), hypertension (HR, 0.76; 95%CI, 0.60-0.97), not taking insulin (HR, 0.75; 95%CI, 0.61-0.93) and without cardiovascular disease (HR, 0.69; 95%CI, 0.55-0.86).
Conclusions :
More vigorous PA was independently associated with a reduced risk of cataract surgery in working-aged diabetic participants, especially for those with obesity and hypertension, not taking insulin and without cardiovascular disease. Findings of our study suggest that maintaining a routine high PA level should be considered in the health care plan for people with diabetes.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.