Associations between physical activities and gestational diabetes mellitus in the first trimester of pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: To prospectively explore the associations between total and different types of physical activities and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the first trimester of pregnant women, in Beijing. Methods: Data of 909 participants from the Chinese Pregnant Women Cohort study were extracted and studied. Four types of physical activities, including household/care-giving, occupational, sports/exercise and outdoor ways of transportation (walking/cycling/E-biking) in early pregnancy were studied by using the pregnancy physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ). All the participants were followed up and related data on GDM collected. Logistic regressions were conducted for data analysis on the associations of interests. Results: A total of 206 pregnant women (22.7%) were diagnosed with GDM. After adjusting for age, pre-pregnancy BMI, family history of diabetes and other types of physical activities, results from the logistic regression showed that women with moderate level of household/care-giving activities were with the lower odds on GDM (OR=0.654, 95%CI: 0.436-0.980). Women who had met the guideline of exercise were less likely to have GDM (OR=0.518, 95%CI: 0.287-0.934). There was no significant association appeared between total physical, occupational and outdoor ways of transportation (walking/cycling/E-biking) activities with GDM. Conclusions: Sports/exercise and household/care-giving activities in early pregnancy appeared important on GDM prevention. Pregnant women are encouraged to wisely arranging their sports/exercise activities and engaging in moderate household/care-giving activities in the first trimester of pregnancy, to prevent GDM.