Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 5:16:1499381.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1499381. eCollection 2025.

Worldwide impact of disease attributable to low physical activity for diabetes and kidney diseases

Ping Ding  1 , Lingyan Qi  2 , Jinglei Wang  3 , Min Tang  4 , Yujie Weng  5
Affiliations

Worldwide impact of disease attributable to low physical activity for diabetes and kidney diseases

Ping Ding et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: We aimed to examine patterns of diabetes and kidney disease due to Low physical activity (LPA) in 204 countries between 1990 and 2021.

Methods: Data were from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021. Age-standardized death rate (ASDR) and age standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were estimated. In addition, annual percentage changes (EAPC) were calculated.

Results: The age-standardized DALY rate (EAPC = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.85, 0.93) and age-standardized death rate (ASDR) of diabetes and kidney disease due to LPA increased (EAPC = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.28,0.39) during 1990 to 2021. Among them, the age-standardized DALY rate and ASDR increased fastest in Eastern Europe (EAPC 2.43 and 3.79, respectively). Mauritius had the most significant increase in age-standardized DALY (EAPC = 3.40), while the Russian Federation had the most significant increase in ASDR (EAPC = 4.40). In 2021, both ASDR and age-standardized DALY rates per 100,000 people increased in women compared with men. The age-standardized DALY rate per 100,000 people generally showed an upward trend, with the highest in Oceania (285.33) and the highest ASDR in Southern Sub-Saharan Africa (10.56).

Conclusions: The global ASDR and age-standardized DALY rates reveal a significant surge in diabetes and kidney disease attributable to LPA from 1990 to 2021. This escalation is evident across 21 regions, with notable increases observed in Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania.

Keywords: annual percentage change (EAPC); diabetes and kidney diseases; disability-adjusted life year (DALY); global burden of disease (GBD); low physical activity (LPA).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age standardized rates of global burden of diabetes and kidney diseases due to Low physical activity in 2021, by locations. (A) Age-standardized DALY rate (B) ASDR.
Figure 2
Figure 2
EAPC of age standardized rates of diabetes and kidney diseases due to Low physical activity from 1990-2021, by locations. (A) Age-standardized DALY rate (B) ASDR.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Global burden of DALY rate of diabetes and kidney diseases due to Low physical activity in 204 countries in 2021, by countries and ages.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Global burden of Death rate of diabetes and kidney diseases due to Low physical activity in 204 countries in 2021, by countries and ages.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Carbone S, Del Buono MG, Ozemek C, Lavie CJ. Obesity, risk of diabetes and role of physical activity, exercise training and cardiorespiratory fitness. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. (2019) 62:327–33. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2019.08.004 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cooper AJ, Brage S, Ekelund U, Wareham NJ, Griffin SJ, Simmons RK. Association between objectively assessed sedentary time and physical activity with metabolic risk factors among people with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. (2014) 57:73–82. doi: 10.1007/s00125-013-3069-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fox CS, Larson MG, Leip EP, Culleton B, Wilson PW, Levy D. Predictors of new-onset kidney disease in a community-based population. Jama. (2004) 291:844–50. doi: 10.1001/jama.291.7.844 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Booth FW, Roberts CK, Laye MJ. Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Compr Physiol. (2012) 2:1143–211. doi: 10.1002/cphy.c110025 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kanbay M, Copur S, Yildiz AB, Tanriover C, Mallamaci F, Zoccali C. Physical exercise in kidney disease: A commonly undervalued treatment modality. Eur J Clin Invest. (2024) 54:e14105. doi: 10.1111/eci.14105 - DOI - PubMed