Photo Credit: Lemono

An analysis that included 956 participants with type 1 diabetes reported that more than 95% reported at least one risk behavior, which emphasizes the importance of comprehensive interventions that target multiple risk behaviors to improve overall health outcomes.

The following is a summary of “Clustering of risk behaviours and associations between risk behaviours and cardio-metabolic risk factors in adult individuals with type 1 diabetes,” published in the January 2024 issue of Endocrinology by Ahola et al.

This study aimed to evaluate the clustering of risk behaviors and their associated health determinants in individuals with type 1 diabetes. It utilized cross-sectional health behavior and health data from the FinnDiane Study. The analysis included 956 participants (40% men, mean age 46 years). The results revealed that 4.3% of individuals reported no risk behaviors, while 25.7%, 37.4%, 24.7%, 6.8%, and 1.0% reported 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 risk behaviors, respectively. Reporting≥4 risk behaviors were more frequent than expected by chance. Dietary non-adherence was the most commonly reported risk behavior (84.4%), followed by low leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) (54.4%), poor sleep (41.9%), high alcohol consumption (15.2%), and smoking (11.2%). 

After adjusting for confounders, individuals reporting ≥2 risk behaviors demonstrated associations with higher body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and diastolic blood pressure. Those with ≥3 risk behaviors exhibited a larger waist-hip ratio, higher HbA1c, and triglyceride concentration, while ≥4 risk behaviors were associated with higher cholesterol concentration. Low LTPA demonstrated the highest number of deleterious health associations among the health behaviors. The study concludes that the accumulation of risk behaviors in individuals with type 1 diabetes leads to negative health outcomes, emphasizing that exhibiting ≥2 risk behaviors or engaging in low LTPA is associated with multiple adverse health outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive interventions targeting multiple risk behaviors to improve overall health outcomes in this population.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168822724000287