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. 2023 Jan 12;20(2):1417.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021417.

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

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 , Christian Brinkmann  1   2   4
Affiliations

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

Frederike Maria Meuffels et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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: continuous glucose monitoring; diabetes; diabetes distress; glucose profile; hiking; pilgrimage; quality of life; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

H.P.K. is a member of the Lilly Advisory Board. U.B. received lecture fees from Lilly. S.K. received lecture fees from Abbott. C.B. is a member of the Abbott Advisory Board. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study design: measurement (M)0, medical examination; M1, questionnaires (World Health Organization (WHO)-5 and Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale); M2-M3, hiking tour and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM); M4, questionnaires (WHO-5 and PAID).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The pilgrim’s path from Ferrol to Formaris and Santiago de Compostela (tracked by the Polar Fitnesswatch).
Figure 3
Figure 3
World Health Organization’s (WHO)-5 questionnaire results pre- and post-intervention (n = 23). Means ± standard deviation (SD). * Significantly different from pre-intervention.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale results pre- and post-intervention (n = 17). Means ± standard deviation (SD).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Glucose profiles from two participants with hypoglycemic events.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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