Does participation in sport protect former Saudi Arabian athletes from high blood glucose after retirement?

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased dramatically in the last decades in developed and developing countries. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes in retired athletes in Saudi Arabia and compare it to nonathletes. This study hypothesizes that early participation in sport can prevent former athletes from abnormal blood glucose levels after retirement. Methods:: The leading methods of researching the issues of the study include the analysis of theoretical sources, analysis of statistics, and comparison. Seventy-three former athletes and 26 nonathletes aged between 20 and 60 years participated in this study. Height, weight, and blood glucose levels were collected by the researcher. The former athletes were divided into 3 groups according to their type of training: endurance, mixed sports, and power sports. Results: The study results showed that 40.59% of former athletes had prediabetes compared to 16.83% of nonathletes. Furthermore, 8.91% of the former athletes had T2D, while 3.96% of the nonathletes had T2D. The results of this study indicated that former athletes had lower average blood glucose than nonathletes. Also, the study results indicated that no statistically significant differences were found between former athletes and nonathletes after retirement. About fasting blood glucose, former power athletes had higher average blood glucose than endurance athletes and mixed sports athletes. Conclusion: It was concluded that no statistically significant differences were found between the former athlete groups.