A healthy lifestyle may reduce risk of infection in patients with type 2 diabetes
1. Adherence to a healthy lifestyle is associated with an approximately 44% reduction in infection incidence among patients living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)
Patients with T2DM are known to be at increased risk of infections, yet further strategies for preventing such infections are needed. A healthy lifestyle has been shown to reduce risk of infections in the general population, but it is unknown whether such benefits extend to patients with T2DM. This prospective cohort study therefore sought to investigate the association between healthy lifestyle adherence among patients with T2DM and infection incidence and the biological pathways involved. 12,885 patients with T2DM (mean age, 60.1 years, 30.6% female) from the UK Biobank were included in the study. Participants were classified into three categories of lifestyle (ideal, intermediate and poor) based on various factors including physical activity level, alcohol consumption, dietary quality, sleep health and others. Patients in the ideal lifestyle group had a 44% lower incidence of total infections, with notable protection against pneumonia (IRR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.31-0.63) and sepsis (IRR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41-0.90). Patients in the intermediate lifestyle group had a 21% lower risk of infection (IRR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.71-0.88). Some important protective factors investigated included never smoking (IRR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.55-0.73), adequate sleep duration (IRR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76-0.90) and regular physical activity (IRR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82-0.97). Overall, this study found that among patients with T2DM, adherence to a healthy lifestyle was associated with significantly reduced risk of infection.
Click here to read this study in BMC Medicine
Image: PD
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