BACKGROUND: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is an important microvascular complication of diabetes. Physical activity (PA) is part of a healthy lifestyle for diabetic patients; however, the role of PA in DN has not been clarified. Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to explore the association between PA and DN risk. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched for articles examining PA in diabetic patients and its effect on renal function. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020191379). RESULTS: A total of 38991 participants were identified from 18 studies. The results indicated that PA was associated with increases in the glomerular filtration rate (SMD 0.01, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.17) and decreases in the urinary albumin creatinine ratio (SMD -0.53, 95% CI -0.72 to -0.34), rate of microalbuminuria (OR 0.61, 95% CI [0.46 to 0.81]), rate of acute kidney injury (OR 0.02, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.04), rate of renal failure (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.97) and risk of DN in patients with Type 1 diabetes (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.89). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicated that PA is effective for improving DN and slowing its progression; however, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required on this topic.

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