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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