Twenty-four-hour physical behaviour profiles across type 2 diabetes mellitus subtypes

Aim: To investigate how 24-h physical behaviours differ across type 2 diabetes (T2DM) subtypes. Materials and Methods: We included participants living with T2DM, enrolled as part of an ongoing observational study. Participants wore an accelerometer for 7 days to quantify physical behaviours across 24 h. We used routinely collected clinical data (age at onset of diabetes, glycated haemoglobin level, homeostatic model assessment index of beta-cell function, homeostatic model assessment index of insulin resistance, body mass index) to replicate four previously identified subtypes (insulin-deficient diabetes [INS-D], insulin-resistant diabetes [INS-R], obesity-related diabetes [OB] and age-related diabetes [AGE]), via k-means clustering. Differences in physical behaviours across the diabetes subtypes were assessed using generalized linear models, with the AGE cluster as the reference. Results: A total of 564 participants were included in this analysis (mean age 63.6 ± 8.4 years, 37.6% female, mean age at diagnosis 53.1 ± 10.0 years). The proportions in each cluster were as follows: INS-D: n = 35, 6.2%; INS-R: n = 88, 15.6%; OB: n = 166, 29.4%; and AGE: n = 275, 48.8%. Compared to the AGE cluster, the OB cluster had a shorter sleep duration (−0.3 h; 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.5, −0.1), lower sleep efficiency (−2%; 95% CI −3, −1), lower total physical activity (−2.9 mg; 95% CI −4.3, −1.6) and less time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (−6.6 min; 95% CI −11.4, −1.7), alongside greater sleep variability (17.9 min; 95% CI 8.2, 27.7) and longer sedentary time (31.9 min; 95% CI 10.5, 53.2). Movement intensity during the most active continuous 10 and 30 min of the day was also lower in the OB cluster. Conclusions: In individuals living with T2DM, the OB subtype had the lowest levels of physical activity and least favourable sleep profiles. Such behaviours may be suitable targets for personalized therapeutic lifestyle interventions.