Abstract
Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is an important microvascular complication of diabetes. Physical activity (PA) is part of a healthy lifestyle for diabetic patients; however, the role of PA in DN has not been clarified. Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to explore the association between PA and DN risk.Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched for articles examining PA in diabetic patients and its effect on renal function. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020191379).Results: A total of 38991 participants were identified from 18 studies. The results indicated that PA was associated with increases in the glomerular filtration rate (SMD = 0.01, 95% CI = [0.02–0.17]) and decreases in the urinary albumin creatinine ratio (SMD = −0.53, 95% CI: −0.72 to −0.34), rate of microalbuminuria (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = [0.46–0.81]), rate of acute kidney injury (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.01–0.04]), rate of renal failure (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = [0.52–0.97]) and risk of DN in patients with Type 1 diabetes (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = [0.51–0.89]).Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicated that PA is effective for improving DN and slowing its progression; however, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required on this topic.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent metabolic disease that has caused considerable humanistic and financial burdens to society and families [1]
The results indicated that Physical activity (PA) was associated with increases in the glomerular filtration rate (SMD = 0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.02–0.17]) and decreases in the urinary albumin creatinine ratio (SMD = −0.53, 95% CI: −0.72 to −0.34), rate of microalbuminuria (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = [0.46–0.81]), rate of acute kidney injury (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.01–0.04]), rate of renal failure (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = [0.52–0.97]) and risk of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with Type 1 diabetes (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = [0.51–0.89])
PA effectively improved the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and decreased the urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) in DN patients (Figures 3 and 4); our results revealed that PA did not show obvious efficacy in reducing serum creatinine, which may be due to the diverse types of research studies
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent metabolic disease that has caused considerable humanistic and financial burdens to society and families [1]. The existence of impaired renal function is an important risk factor for severe hypoglycaemia [6], which is partly due to impaired gluconeogenesis in the kidney [7] Both decreased glucose filtration and increased inflammation-induced insulin resistance result in hyperglycaemia in patients with kidney disease [8]. The results indicated that PA was associated with increases in the glomerular filtration rate (SMD = 0.01, 95% CI = [0.02–0.17]) and decreases in the urinary albumin creatinine ratio (SMD = −0.53, 95% CI: −0.72 to −0.34), rate of microalbuminuria (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = [0.46–0.81]), rate of acute kidney injury (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.01–0.04]), rate of renal failure (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = [0.52–0.97]) and risk of DN in patients with Type 1 diabetes (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = [0.51–0.89]). Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicated that PA is effective for improving DN and slowing its progression; more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required on this topic
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