Daily Activity Level Buffers Stress–Glycemia Associations in Older Sedentary NIDDM Patients

Examined glycemic associations with medical variables, activity, daily stress, and mood state in 72 older patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). On three occasions over a 2-week observation period, subjects provided measures of everyday life stress, negative mood state, and daily activities. At the end of this period, fructosamine was assayed to measure glycemic control throughout the assessment period. After controlling for medical variables (age, illness duration, body mass index, caloric intake, and activity) and the main effects of psychological factors (stress; anxious, angry, and depressed mood states), stress interacted with activity such that glycemic elevation was positively associated with stress for subjects below the activity median but not for those above the median. This was unattributable to any overall activity-related differences in fructosamine, stress, or mood. None of the mood states interacted with activity. The findings suggest that extremely low levels of activity may strengthen life stress–glycemia associations in NIDDM.