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Article

From Zero to Hero: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Hike on the Way of St. James—A Feasibility Study with Analyses of Patients’ Quality of Life, Diabetes Distress and Glucose Profile

by
Frederike Maria Meuffels
1,2,
Hans-Peter Kempe
3,4,
Ulrike Becker
4,5,
Martin Kornmann
4,6,
Stephan Kress
4,7,
Thorsten Kreutz
2,4,† and
Christian Brinkmann
1,2,4,*,†
1
Department of Preventive and Rehabilitative Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, Germany
2
Department of Fitness & Health, IST University of Applied Sciences, 40233 Düsseldorf, Germany
3
Diabetes Center Ludwigshafen, 67067 Ludwigshafen, Germany
4
Working Group “Diabetes, Sports and Exercise”, German Diabetes Association (DDG), 10117 Berlin, Germany
5
Heath & Medical Center, 53123 Bonn, Germany
6
Center for Diabetes and Hormonal Disorders, 67433 Neustadt, Germany
7
Vinzentius Hospital, 76829 Landau, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1417; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021417
Submission received: 25 November 2022 / Revised: 29 December 2022 / Accepted: 6 January 2023 / Published: 12 January 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exercise-Based Strategies to Fight Metabolic Diseases)
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Abstract

This study investigates the feasibility of an accompanied 5-day hiking tour (Way of St. James) for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and its impact on their quality of life/well-being, diabetes distress and glucose profile. Twenty-three T2DM patients (with and without insulin therapy) participated in the study. The 120 km pilgrimage (from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela, Spain) was accompanied by three physicians, two diabetes counselors and one sports scientist. Quality of life/well-being was assessed by the World Health Organization’s (WHO)-5 questionnaire, and diabetes distress was evaluated based on the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale. The glucose levels of six insulin-treated patients were measured using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, considering that insulin-treated patients can be at increased risk of exercise-induced hypoglycemia. A significant improvement in quality of life/well-being was reported (p < 0.001), while diabetes distress did not change significantly (p = 0.203). Only two of the six insulin-treated patients showed moderate hypoglycemic episodes between 0.97% and 5.21% time below range per day, with glucose levels between 53–70 mg/dL. Hiking tours such as the one organized for this study can improve quality of life/well-being without increasing diabetes distress and are considered relatively safe for T2DM patients, even for those being treated with insulin.
Keywords: diabetes; hiking; pilgrimage; quality of life; well-being; diabetes distress; glucose profile; continuous glucose monitoring diabetes; hiking; pilgrimage; quality of life; well-being; diabetes distress; glucose profile; continuous glucose monitoring

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MDPI and ACS Style

Meuffels, F.M.; Kempe, H.-P.; Becker, U.; Kornmann, M.; Kress, S.; Kreutz, T.; Brinkmann, C. From Zero to Hero: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Hike on the Way of St. James—A Feasibility Study with Analyses of Patients’ Quality of Life, Diabetes Distress and Glucose Profile. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 1417. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021417

AMA Style

Meuffels FM, Kempe H-P, Becker U, Kornmann M, Kress S, Kreutz T, Brinkmann C. From Zero to Hero: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Hike on the Way of St. James—A Feasibility Study with Analyses of Patients’ Quality of Life, Diabetes Distress and Glucose Profile. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(2):1417. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021417

Chicago/Turabian Style

Meuffels, Frederike Maria, Hans-Peter Kempe, Ulrike Becker, Martin Kornmann, Stephan Kress, Thorsten Kreutz, and Christian Brinkmann. 2023. "From Zero to Hero: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Hike on the Way of St. James—A Feasibility Study with Analyses of Patients’ Quality of Life, Diabetes Distress and Glucose Profile" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 2: 1417. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021417

APA Style

Meuffels, F. M., Kempe, H.-P., Becker, U., Kornmann, M., Kress, S., Kreutz, T., & Brinkmann, C. (2023). From Zero to Hero: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Hike on the Way of St. James—A Feasibility Study with Analyses of Patients’ Quality of Life, Diabetes Distress and Glucose Profile. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1417. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021417

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