Cross-sectional and retrospective questionnaire-trial to evaluate exercise habits in a sample of HIV-infected individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The purpose of this observational and epidemiological study was to determine the quantity and quality of physical activity performed by 70 HIV-infected individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). We formulated a questionnaire to describe the tendency to physical exercise with regard to the present and the past of these subjects. The semi-structured questionnaire allowed us to collect details on typology and intensity of exercise done, on rate of perceived exertion, on sensations felt during and after exercise, and on progressive (immunological and general) deterioration caused by these diseases. In the group of HIV-diabetic patients,10% conducted "heavy" physical activity (PA), 16% did "moderate" PA, and 73% was physically inactive. Among metabolic parameters, participants in heavy PA reported a glycemic trend and glycosylated hemoglobin progressively decreasing with respect to sedentary persons (glucose: 139 vs. 160 mg/dl, p<0.05; HbA1c: 6.81% vs. 7.35%). Other data, especially for lipidic profile, did not show so clear a picture. Approximately three-quarters of interviewed subjects, who belong to both experimental and control groups, were not performing any kind of physical activity. Nonetheless, in most cases, the questionnaire did not find so debilitating clinical conditions to follow exercise interventions improving quality of life and several other aspects. © Springer-Verlag Italia 2005.