Impact of gender differences on lifestyle and glycemic control in Japanese patients with diabetes during COVID-19 lockdowns

AIMS: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed global lifestyles. Some reports about lifestyle changes during this pandemic have been published. However, these studies have not assessed gender differences. Thus, we analyzed three lifestyle changes to determine gender differences. METHODS: We analyzed physical activity, snacking habits, and drinking habits in 323 patients with diabetes. Gender differences in lifestyle habits were analyzed using the ꭓ(2) test, and comparisons of HbA1c between 2019 and 2020 were analyzed using the paired t-test. The factors that influenced the deterioration of HbA1c were determined using multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of the 323 patients, 212 were male and 111 were female. When examined by quarter, the HbA1c values increased significantly in 2020 compared with that in 2019 in the July–September period. In terms of gender differences in the changes of lifestyle habits, decreased physical activity was higher in women. The factors that affected deterioration in HbA1c were snacking habits for the overall and the male populations. CONCLUSIONS: The lifestyle changes differed between the genders during the pandemic. A balanced diet is important for all patients with diabetes. Additionally, more attention should be paid to physical inactivity in women.