Abstract
Introduction:
We aimed to evaluate the differences in clinical outcomes among patients with DM and coronary heart disease according to their baseline physical activity status.
Methods:
We evaluated 2,343 patients with CHD and DM who underwent either prompt revascularization (PR) and intensive medical therapy (IMT) or IMT alone in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) trial. Patients were categorized according to their baseline physical activity status to sedentary, mild physical activity or moderate/strenuous activity. Primary end points were all cause mortality. Cox Regression analysis was used to evaluate the effects of baseline physical activity on all-cause-mortality.
Results:
Of 2,343 patients, 858 (37%) were able to achieve moderate/strenuous physical activity prior to randomization. Patients with sedentary life style and mild physical activity at baseline had worse survival compared to those with higher activity levels (Figure). In a Cox regression analysis, in patients randomized to IMT alone, there were no differences in mortality across physical activity levels. In the PR arm, sedentary and mild physical activity carried high risk of mortality compared to strenuous activity levels. Furthermore, patients in the low physical activity categories carried an increased risk of death if they were randomized to the insulin sensitizing arm of the trial.
Conclusions:
In this study, patients with DM and CHD, moderate/strenuous physical activity at baseline had improved survival compared to mild physical activity or sedentary life-style.