Benchm

2

Research Question

Do moderate-intensity aerobic exercises affect glycosylated hemoglobin among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy?

PICOT Question

Among type 2 diabetes mellitus elderly patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, how does moderate-intensity aerobic exercise compared to standard care affect glycemic control within 8 weeks?

Current Study

Dixit, S., Maiya, A., & Shastry, B. A. (2017). Effect of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on glycosylated hemoglobin among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes & peripheral neuropathy. The Indian journal of medical research, 145(1), 129.

Introduction

Diabetes is a lifestyle disease characterized by the buildup of excess sugar levels in the blood. Normally, a hormone called insulin helps the body to lower glucose levels in the blood but when the right amount of this hormone is not produced, blood sugar levels pile up to uncontrollable levels. Also, sometimes the body cells fail to act on the insulin as they should leading to increased blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes is caused by the aforementioned factors starting with the unresponsive cells to the body not producing enough insulin at the advanced stage of the disease. This disease is managed through medication, nutrition, and exercises to name a few. The elderly are considered the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of the disease because of their inactive lives and weak bones that affect the effectiveness of exercise in their bodies.

Moderate aerobic exercises are associated with improved glycemic control when carried out alongside other measures of standard care. Incorporating aerobic exercises in the management of type 2 diabetes reduces the chances of developing other complications that could lead to death. It is therefore very vital for the standard care of diabetes mellitus to be accompanied by exercises to improve the quality of attention given to diabetic patients. The undermentioned discussions illustrate how various literature connected to exercises in diabetes management has been investigated. Also, 87 diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy were examined for 8 weeks to determine the effectiveness of aerobic exercises in glycemic control.

Comparison of Research Questions

The current research study’s question asks, “Do moderate-intensity aerobic exercises affect glycosylated hemoglobin among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy?” and the PICOT question “Among type 2 diabetes mellitus elderly patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, how do moderate-intensity aerobic exercise compared to standard care affect glycemic control within 8 weeks?” Research questions are important for they allow researchers to focus on the right issues that pave the way to information and findings. This particular study questions have been able to focus on the primary issues of the effects of exercises on glycemic control in diabetic patients together with other literature whose study questions focused on issues surrounding the same issues as those of the current study. The research study conducted by Chao et al, (2018) focused on identifying the effects of Tai Chi on type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Tai Chi, a type of exercise characterized by slow movement and the relaxation of the minds was discovered to lower blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes. The research objectives of this study prove that the inclusion of Tai Chi in diabetes management which is a form of exercise reduces blood sugar levels supporting the determinants of the current study. Also, the study which was conducted by Cai et al, (2017) also focused on finding out about the effect exercises had on the quality of life of type 2 diabetic patients. The study by Harrison et al. (2016) also focused on determining whether exercises improve glycemic control in women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus compared to the use of standard care alone. All these studies had questions that focused on the same primary issue that the current study focused on, confirming the suitability of the current study questions.

Comparison of the Sample Populations

The current study sample population included 87 patients with diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy. The study examined the patients for 8 weeks after which tremendous results of blood sugar reduction was recorded. The study was very efficient because of the time which was taken to examine the effects of exercises on patients and also studying so many patients gave researchers accurate ideas about the correct estimated results of exercises on diabetic patients. The study by Cai et al, (2017) examined the effects of exercises on 2785 participants whereas 588 participants were used as the sample size in the study that was conducted by Harrison et al. (2016). The information obtained from these studies shows that the effectiveness of results is determined by the number of participants in the study. A large sample size gives room for the attainment of better results even when errors are experienced.

Comparison of the Limitations of the Study

The current study indicates the major limitation to be the ever-growing intensive therapy insulin injections which affect the effectiveness of diabetes medication among diabetic patients. The study conducted by Cai et al, (2017) indicated the limitation of the inadequacy of information on the effects of yoga on the quality of lives of people living with type 2 diabetes. The study conducted by Akbari et al. (2020) indicated that exercise therapies produced positive changes among individuals but recommended more studies to be done on the effects of other therapies. Most studies showed a few gaps in the area of providing reliable information requiring researchers to dig deeper to find out more about the effects of other exercises and their results. The studies have been able to show the importance of exercises among diabetic patients but gaps still exist requiring further research activities to be done.

Conclusions and Further Recommendations

A lot of insightful information has been derived from the aforementioned comparisons between the current study and other literature. The comparisons determine the validity of the current study PICOT and the research question’s effectiveness in finding out the importance of exercises in patients with diabetes mellitus. Comparing the limitations also shows what is affecting research studies done on diabetic patients. From the comparisons, it is clear that further researches are needed to reduce the existing gaps that reduce the reliability of the study’s information. Also, Insulin therapies should be reduced to prevent interfering with diabetes medication.

References

Akbari, N. J., Hosseinifar, M., Naimi, S. S., Mikaili, S., & Rahbar, S. (2020). The efficacy of physiotherapy interventions in mitigating the symptoms and complications of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review. Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders, 1-10.

Cai, H., Li, G., Zhang, P., Xu, D., & Chen, L. (2017). Effect of exercise on the quality of life in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. Quality of Life Research, 26(3), 515-530.

Chao, M., Wang, C., Dong, X., & Ding, M. (2018). The effects of Tai Chi on type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis. Journal of diabetes research, 2018.

Dixit, S., Maiya, A., & Shastry, B. A. (2017). Effect of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on glycosylated hemoglobin among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes & peripheral neuropathy. The Indian journal of medical research, 145(1), 129.

Harrison, A. L., Shields, N., Taylor, N. F., & Frawley, H. C. (2016). Exercise improves glycaemic control in women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. Journal of physiotherapy, 62(4), 188-196.