Pittsburgh Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Morbidity and Mortality Study: physical activity and diabetic complications.

The long-term health consequences of chronic physical activity for patients with type I diabetes are unknown. In the current study, the association of physical activity to diabetic complications was assessed in 696 type I diabetic individuals diagnosed between 1950 and 1964. Participation in team sports in high school or college was not associated with a decreased prevalence of severe retinopathy or blindness later in life. There was, however, a suggestion of a negative association between physical activity and both cardiovascular disease and overall mortality, ie, individuals who participated in team sports were somewhat less likely to report macrovascular disease at follow-up or to have died than nonparticipants. The relationship between physical activity and diabetic complications only appeared in male subjects. The results suggest that activity early in life by patients with type I diabetes does not appear to be associated with an adverse health effect and may, in fact, be beneficial.