Skip to main content
NUTRITION 2023 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Topical Area: Nutritional Epidemiology

Nutritional Epidemiology (II) (Poster Session)

(P29-055-23) Regular Exercise and Risk of Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension

Monday, July 24, 2023
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 180

    Presenting Author(s)

  • XZ

    Xinyi Zhou, MS

    Research Fellow
    Department of Medicine/Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • MS

    Martha R. Singer, RD, MPH

    Department of Medicine/Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  • Ioanna Yiannakou, RD, MS, PhD candidate

    PhD candidate
    Boston University School of Medicine
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  • Lynn L. Moore, DSc, MPH

    Department of Medicine/Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure(s):
Xinyi Zhou, MS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Ioanna Yiannakou, RD, MS, PhD candidate: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Women who develop gestational diabetes (GDM) or pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) are at higher risk for other pregnancy related complications or having a baby with a major congenital anomaly. Therefore, prevention of GDM and PIH should be an important focus for at-risk pregnant women. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of regular exercise (≥4 times/week) during the first trimester on the risk of developing GDM or PIH. We further examined the potential benefit of exercise among higher-risk women, including those who are overweight or have a past medical history of gestational diabetes or prevalent hypertension.

Methods: We included women from a prospective cohort of >20,000 pregnant women with data on regular exercise, medical history, and other lifestyle factors derived from an interview completed approximately 2 months after conception during the period from 1984 to 1987. For these analyses, subjects included 19,262 women aged 18- < 45 years, without excessive intakes of alcohol or use of illegal drugs, and who had a BMI between 18.5 and 40 kg/m2. Outcome data on pregnancy complications were collected approximately one year after the expected date of delivery. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for risk of GDM and/or PIH associated with regular exercise.
Results: There were 358 women with incident GDM, 201 with incident PIH, and 535 who developed GDM and/or PIH. Exercising ≥4 times/week was associated with a 39% lower risk of GDM (95%CI: 0.39-0.97) and a 48% lower risk of PIH (95%CI: 0.28-1.00) after adjusting for confounding by age, education, parity, and BMI. In the model combining either PIH or GDM, regular exercise was associated with a 44% lower risk (95%CI: 0.38-0.82) of these outcomes. After stratifying women into higher-risk and lower-risk groups, regular exercise provided even greater benefit to higher-risk women (OR: 0.44, 95%CI: 0.19-1.00) than lower-risk women (OR: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.40-0.96).

Conclusions: Regular physical activity during early pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of developing GDM or PIH, and these benefits were even stronger among women at higher risk for pregnancy-related complications.

Funding Sources: N/A