Effect of exercise programme intervention in management of type 2 diabetes mellitus outpatients at Gulu regional referral hospital, Uganda.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aerobic exercise programme on Glycocylated Hemoglobin (HbAlc) in the outpatients from Gulu Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH). 50 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) participated in the study. The programme was done on treadmill and bicycle ergometers, three times a week for 30-60 minutes per session, at 60-75% of the individual's maximum hea1t rate for 8 weeks. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the level of participation in physical activities. Repeated measures t-test (p < 0.05) was used to determine significant differences in HbA 1 c as well as BMI of the patients. The analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 11.0). It was found that the patients did not participate in an organized exercise programme before. After the exercise, there was a significant difference in HbAlc between the experimental and the control group (p= 0.000). There was an average reduction of 2.22% (p=0.000) in HbAlc among the experimental group. However, there was no significant gender difference in HbAlc (p= 0.88). There was significant difference in BMI among the experimental group (p= 0.000). The programme was therefore effective for the T2DM patients. It is recommended that health service providers should assign exercise programmers for diabetes, sensitize patients on the importance of physical exercise in the management of sugar level.