Abstract
Excessive maternal inflammation during pregnancy increases the risk for maternal and neonatal metabolic complications. Fortunately, maternal physical activity during pregnancy appears to reduce maternal inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal physical activity intensity and maternal inflammation during late pregnancy. Maternal physical activity levels (sedentary, light, lifestyle, and moderate), fitness levels, and systemic inflammation (plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration) were measured between 32–37 weeks gestation. Relationships were examined by Spearman Rank Coefficient Correlation analyses. Maternal plasma CRP was negatively associated with time spent in light and lifestyle physical activities (Light: r=−0.40, p=0.01; Lifestyle: r=−0.31, p=0.03), but not with time spent in moderate physical activity (r=−0.18, p=0.21). Higher maternal plasma CRP tended to correlate with more time spent sedentary (r=0.27, p=0.06). In addition, increases in light and lifestyle activities may elicit a clinically meaningful change in inflammation. In conclusion, pregnant women should be encouraged to incorporate more low-intensity physical activities into their daily routines in order to decrease systemic inflammation and potentially improve maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes.
Highlights
Low-grade chronic inflammation, often secondary to obesity, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension [1,2,3,4]
The primary finding of our study is that time spent in light and lifestyle physical activities during late pregnancy is associated with lower maternal systemic inflammation
Understanding the relationships between physical activity intensity and inflammation during late pregnancy is imperative as women are most likely to decrease their physical activity levels and gain additional weight near the end of gestation [20,21,22]. Our study examined these relationships in a cohort of predominantly obese women, which is important because these women are at the highest risk for excessive maternal inflammation and its downstream sequela [23,24]
Summary
Low-grade chronic inflammation, often secondary to obesity, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension [1,2,3,4]. Maternal systemic inflammation is physiologically elevated [5,6]. Excessive inflammation during pregnancy increases the risk for metabolic complications such as insulin resistance/gestational diabetes and hypertension/preeclampsia [6,7,8]. Increased inflammation might increase risk for future maternal disease including metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease [9]. Light and vigorous maternal physical activities during pregnancy are associated with lower systemic inflammation in the second trimester [13,14]. The relationship between physical activity intensity and maternal inflammation in late pregnancy is unclear. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between physical activity intensity and inflammation during late pregnancy
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