Impact of moderate to vigorous physical activity on systemic vascular resistance in Danish adults with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study

Strenuous physical activity alleviates the risk of elevated blood pressure (BP) presumably through a reduction in systemic vascular resistance (SVR). Using logistic multivariate regression models, we investigated whether moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was negatively associated with high SVR among adults with Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). Additionally, we assessed associations between other cardiometabolic risk factors and SVR. SVR was assessed using thoracic electrical bioimpedance; high SVR was defined as ≥20% above normal. Time spent on MVPA was calculated using accelerometer data and age-specific cut points. In fasting blood samples, we measured plasma glucose and c-peptide and used the Homeostasis Model Assessment 2-Insulin Resistance (HOMA2-IR) to estimate Insulin resistance. Results are adjusted for age, sex, BP, body mass index (BMI), HOMA2-IR, medication, and smoking. We included 824 adults (mean age = 61.6 years) with recently diagnosed T2DM (interquartile range for diabetes duration = 4.9 years). 41% were females. Median MVPA was 10.7 min/day, and 50.5% had high SVR. Increments of 14.4 min/day in MVPA were independently associated with a lower risk of high SVR (OR = 0.69, [0.57;0.83]). Other risk determinants of high SVR were female sex (OR = 2.06, [1.49;2.86]), each increase in BMI of 6.16 kg/m2 (OR = 2.20, [1.76;2.73]), and HOMA2-IR of 1.79 (OR = 2.33, [1.09;4.96]). BMI had a notably greater impact on explained variability of SVR than MVPA when comparing the coefficient of determination (pseudo-R2, 35.0% vs. 7.9%). Although increased levels of MVPA are associated with a reduced risk of high SVR, BMI appears to have a more pronounced effect on SVR.