Previous studies have shown that individual lifestyle behaviors can lower the risk of diabetes, but the combined impact of lifestyle factors on the new onset of diabetes in later life has not been well established. Now, in the April 27, 2009 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers report that 80% of new diabetes cases in older adults are attributable to poor lifestyle.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and their colleagues studied 4883 men and women aged 65 or older who were enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study and followed them for a 10-year period for development of diabetes. The researchers evaluated the physical activity, diet, smoking history, alcohol use, body mass index, and waist circumference of the participants in order to study the relationship between these lifestyle-associated factors and the diagnosis of diabetes. They found that each lifestyle factors was independently associated with the onset of diabetes. And, those participants whose physical activity level and dietary, smoking, and alcohol habits were all in the low-risk group had an 82% lower incidence of diabetes compared with all other participants.

When obesity was included as a risk factor, 90% of new cases of diabetes appeared to be attributable to lifestyle risk factors. The researchers concluded that, even later in life, adopting a healthier lifestyle is associated with a significantly lower incidence of new-onset diabetes.

Source:

Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(8):798-807.