Home Diabetes and Endocrinology Supervised Exercise Program Doesn’t Cut GDM Recurrence

Supervised Exercise Program Doesn’t Cut GDM Recurrence

However, program improves maternal fitness and is linked to reduction in psychological distress

TUESDAY, Sept. 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A supervised home-based exercise program started early in pregnancy does not reduce the recurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), according to a study published in the October issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Kym J. Guelfi, Ph.D., from the University of Western Australia in Perth, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial involving women with a history of GDM. At 13 ± 1 weeks of gestation, participants were randomized to an exercise intervention (14-week supervised home-based stationary cycling program; 85 women) or to a control group (standard care; 87 women). Three of the women miscarried before outcome measures were assessed.

The researchers found that between the groups there was a similar GDM recurrence rate (40 percent for controls; 40.5 percent for exercise; P = 0.95). The exercise program did not affect the severity of GDM at diagnosis, with similar glucose and insulin responses to the oral glucose tolerance test (P > 0.05). The exercise program improved maternal fitness (P < 0.01), and there was a reduction in psychological distress (P = 0.02). There were no between-group differences noted in the obstetric and neonatal outcomes (P > 0.05).

“Supervised home-based exercise started at 14 weeks of gestation did not prevent the recurrence of GDM; however, it was associated with important benefits for maternal fitness and psychological well-being,” the authors write.

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