Physical activity levels of geriatric individuals with diabetes

This descriptive study was conducted with 105 patients between 09.20.2020 and 06.20.2021 in order to determine the physical activity levels of geriatric individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Prior to the study, permission was taken from the ethics committee, the institution, and patients. The population of the study consisted of all geriatric diabetic patients who had applied to the Family Health Center and the sample consisted of patients who met the research criteria in accordance with the power analysis and volunteered to participate in the study. Research data were collected using a questionnaire, the Standardized Mini-Mental Test, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. In the evaluation of activities, the criterion was that each activity had to be performed for at least 10 minutes at a time and a score of "MET-minutes/week" was obtained by multiplying the minutes, days, METs (multiples of resting oxygen consumption). Physical activity levels were classified as physically inactive (<600 MET-min/week), low level of physical activity (600 – 3000 MET-min/week), and adequate level of physical activity (>3000 MET-min/week). Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Pearson Chi-square, and Fischer exact tests were used in the analysis of the data. The mean age of the patients was 72±5.6; 38.1% were aged between 65-69; 46.6% were male; 30.4% had diabetes diagnosis for 6-10 years; 70.4% received oral antidiabetic drug and diet treatment. The mean score of the individuals on the physical activity questionnaire was 473.7±617.8 and 74.2% of the individuals were inactive. Among the geriatric individuals, those who were aged 75 or over, female, single, illiterate, knew what can happen when not complied with the treatment, follow medical nutrition treatment, communicate with a diabetes nurse, exercise regularly, know the importance of physical activity in diabetes treatment, and practice physical activity in accordance with diabetes treatment and as recommended had higher mean physical activity scores (p<0.05). In conclusion, it is recommended to evaluate geriatric individuals' physical activity levels and support them individually since their physical activity levels are insufficient. Keywords: Diabetes, geriatrics, physical activity, quality of life, nursing