Association between diabetes prevalence and weekend warrior activity patterns

Objective

To investigate the association between the Weekend Warrior (WW) pattern and diabetes prevalence in American adults.

Study design

Cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2007–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Methods

We examined the relationship between four physical activity (PA) patterns—inactive, insufficiently active, WW, and regularly active—and diabetes prevalence. Multivariable logistic regression, marginal average population effects (MAPE), subgroup, and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess these associations. Odds ratios (ORs) and average marginal effects (AME), along with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Results

Individuals engaging in the WW pattern (OR = 0.60, 95 % CI: 0.40 to 0.89, p = 0.013; AME = −0.05, 95 % CI: -0.09 to −0.02, p = 0.004) and the regularly active pattern (OR = 0.69, 95 % CI: 0.60 to 0.80, p < 0.001; AME = −0.04, 95 % CI: -0.06 to −0.03, p < 0.001) showed significantly lower diabetes prevalence than those classified as inactive. Compared to individuals classified as inactive, those categorized as insufficiently active demonstrated no significant difference in diabetes prevalence. No significant difference was observed between the WW and regularly active patterns (OR = 0.86, 95 % CI: 0.56 to 1.35, p = 0.5; AME = −0.01, 95 % CI: -0.06 to 0.03, p = 0.501). Subgroup interaction analyses revealed no significant effect modification (all p for interaction >0.05), and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.

Conclusion

Both the WW and regularly active patterns are associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes compared with inactive individuals.