Effects of Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Exercise on Blood Glucose Levels and Pregnancy Outcomes in Patients With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the effects of structured moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on blood glucose, insulin, and pregnancy outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: One hundred one patients with GDM were randomly divided into a control group (50 cases) and an experimental group (51 cases) in a class 3 first-level general hospital. GDM patients in the control group received a personalized diabetes diet intervention, online education, and routine prenatal care. The experimental group added 6 weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in addition to the identical conditions given to the control group. The differences of fasting and 2-h postprandial blood glucose, insulin use, and adverse pregnancy outcomes were evaluated between the experimental and control group after intervention. RESULTS: Outcomes were available from 89 participants. Compared with before intervention, there were statistically significant differences in fasting blood glucose and 2-h blood glucose after three meals in both groups (P < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the average fasting blood glucose, the average 2-h postprandial blood glucose, the insulin dosage, and the utilization rate between the experimental and control group after the intervention (P < 0.05). Parameters in the experimental group were all lower than in the control group. Compared with the control group, the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the experimental group after intervention was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can help improve blood glucose control and insulin use in patients with GDM. In the future, long-term follow-up can be conducted for maternal and neonatal infants to evaluate the impact of exercise intervention on the risk of type 2 diabetes. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was approved by the registration of the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration number: ChiCTR1900027929.