Table 6.

Association between Physical activity and Diabetic Retinopathy in epidemiological studies

Study	Year	Summary
Pittsburgh Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Morbidity and Mortality Study [22]	1986	Persons with Type I diabetes who participated in team sports in high school or college were less likely to develop severe eye disease compared to non-participants (OR = 0.91; p > 0.10).
The Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study [21]	1991	A lower risk of retinopathy was noted in persons with Type I diabetes who reported higher levels of physical activity in school years though not statistically significant when adjusted for potential confounders.
Wisconsin Epidemiological Study of Diabetic Retinopathy [5]	1992	Women (but not men), diagnosed with diabetes before the age of 14, who participated in team sports were less likely to have proliferative diabetic retinopathy after adjusting for age, duration of diabetes and other complications (OR, 0.34, p = 0.02).
Wisconsin Epidemiological Study of Diabetic Retinopathy [6]	1995	No association between physical activity measures and incidence or progression of proliferative diabetic retinopathy in persons with Type1 diabetes for a period of more than six years.
The Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane Study) [28]	2008	Persons with Type I diabetes who performed low-intensity leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) as opposed to higher intensities of LTPA had a greater prevalence of proliferative retinopathy (OR, 1.49, 95 % CI, 1.15–1.93). No association with frequency of physical activities was noted.