TITLE:
Aerobic Training Impacts on Blood Cholesterol of Women with Gestational Diabetes
AUTHORS:
Jovita A. Daniel, Emily Nzeribe, Anthonia A. Udoaku
KEYWORDS:
Gestational Diabetes, Antenatal Exercise, Total Cholesterol, Aerobic Training
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.11 No.4,
April
28,
2021
ABSTRACT: Gestational diabetes
mellitus has been identified as a major complication of pregnancies and has remained a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as maternal morbidity. Lipid abnormalities significantly
contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other morbidities
in diabetics. One of the benefits of regular exercise is a reduction in cardiovascular
risk factors through the improvement of the lipid profile and reduction of
hypertension. This study investigated the effect of aerobic training on the cholesterol
level of women with gestational diabetes. Thirty-four (34) women who met the
inclusion criteria for this study were randomized into Exercise and Control
groups. Exercise group participated in structured exercise programme, 3
sessions a week for 8 weeks with each session lasting a maximum of 60 minutes
while the Control group did not participate in any form of structured exercise
programme for the period of the study. Data were collected at baseline, at 4th
week and at 8th week into the exercise programme. Thirty (30) of the
participants completed the study and so only their data were analysed using
Repeated Measure ANOVA and Independent t-test. The result showed significant
changes in the total cholesterol (F[2, 28]) = 268.316, P = 0.001), of the Exercise group compared to the
control. Independent t-test used to compare the lipid profile of the
Experimental and Control groups showed significant difference between the means
of the 2 groups at week 4 (total cholesterol (t(28) 2.164, P = 0.039, triglyceride [t(28)
3.146 P = 0.004] and week 8 (total
cholesterol t(28) 4.596, P = 0.001, triglyceride t(28)
5.534, P = 0.001) but not at baseline
(total cholesterol t(28) -901, P = 0.375,
triglyceride t(28) 1.612, P = 0.118). It
was concluded that structured aerobic exercises
may have positive effect on the components of lipid profile in women
with gestational diabetes.