Summary Introduction The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus leads to high costs of medication for treatment and the practice of physical activity, as well as reducing the risks of diabetes mellitus is able to substantially mitigate costs. To investigate the impact of diabetes mellitus on costs of medication and identify whether physical activity can influence the relationship between diabetes mellitus and costs of medication. Methods The sample consisted of adults enrolled in five basic healthcare units. The presence of diabetes mellitus and habitual physical activity were assessed by a questionnaire, the quantity of medication used was evaluated according to the medical records, and medication costs, through receipts. Findings Individuals with diabetes mellitus from baseline presented higher body weight (P value = .001) and lower levels of physical activity (P value = .014). The presence of diabetes mellitus was positively related to costs of medication for diseases of the circulatory system (β = 4.89), endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (β = 109.72), and total costs of medication (β = 113.41). The impact of diabetes mellitus was attenuated by physical activity. Conclusion It was identified that diabetes mellitus has a significant impact on public costs with medication, and physical activity was effective in reducing health costs independently of diabetes mellitus by less than 1%.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a combination of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of MetS worldwide is increasing. There is no study investigating the economic burden of MetS, especially in developing countries, on medication-related expenditure. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of medication-related expenditures with MetS and to explore how physical activity (PA) may influence this association. Methods: A total of 620 participants, 50 years or older, randomly selected in the city of Bauru, Brazil. Participants were followed from 2010 to 2014, and data on health care expenditure were collected annually. PA questionnaire was applied at baseline, 2 (2012), and 4 (2014) years later. Results: Mean age was 64.7 (95% confidence interval, 64.1–65.3). MetS was associated with higher medication expenditure related to diseases of the circulatory (P <.01) and endocrine (P <.01) systems. MetS explained 17.2% of medication-related expenditures, whereas PA slightly attenuated this association, explaining 1.1% of all health care costs. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that MetS has a significant burden on health care expenditures among adults, whereas PA seems to affect this phenomenon significantly, but in low magnitude.

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Given the importance of physical activity for health promotion and for the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases, the Unified Health System (SUS) has changed its strategy of action in the last decades, trying to adopt preventive activities, seeking better quality of life of the Brazilian population and reduce costs with treatment of diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns in users of the Brazilian National Unified Health System during 18 months and the impact of sex and time on such variables. One hundred and ninety-eight participants (58 men and 140 women) were evaluated. Physical activity level was assessed using the Baecke questionnaire. Men had higher scores in all physical activity variables compared to women: walking (p-value = 0.013), cycling (p-value = 0.001) and commuting (p-value= 0.007), but not for TV watching (p-value = 0.362). After 18 months, in the overall sample, walking score increased 25.9% (95%CI = 10.6 to 41.1), but not cycling (1.5% [95%CI = -2.7 to 5.7]), commuting (14.4% [95%CI = -0.4 to 29.3]) and TV watching (1.6% [95%CI = -5.7 to 9.1]). Men were usually more active than women in active behaviors, but not in TV watching. However, differences over time were similar between sexes.