Moderate-to-Vigorous Exercise Lowers Preterm Birth Risk With Gestational Diabetes
MONDAY, Dec. 23, 2024 -- Moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) during pregnancy is inversely associated with preterm birth in women with gestational diabetes (GD), according to a study published online Dec. 19 in JAMA Network Open.
Wanglong Gou, Ph.D., from Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine in China, and colleagues examined the association of accelerometer-derived physical activity metrics and patterns with preterm birth among women with GD. The analysis included 1,427 women with GD with wearable accelerometer-derived physical activity data.
The researchers found an inverse relationship between an increase in MVPA and the fraction of physical activity energy expenditure derived from MVPA with preterm birth (odds ratio per 30 minutes, 0.64 and 0.69, respectively). There was a progressive decrease in the odds of preterm birth with increasing duration of MVPA per day, which reached a plateau at 74 minutes per day. The benefit was similar whether active MVPA (≥30 minutes per day) was concentrated into a few days or followed a more regular pattern.
"These findings provide key evidence for the health benefits of MVPA during pregnancy and lay the foundation for establishing physical activity guidelines for pregnant women with GD," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
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