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The Cycle Study: a Study of the Effectiveness of Cycling Exercise in Breaking the Cycle of Pregnancy Diabetes

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Interventions
Behavioral: Supervised home-based exercise
Registration Number
NCT01283854
Lead Sponsor
The University of Western Australia
Brief Summary

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy and has serious health implications for both the pregnant woman and her child. In particular, offspring of mothers with GDM have an increased prevalence of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, perpetuating serious health consequences in subsequent generations.

Although regular exercise offers numerous benefits for both the mother and her child, its effectiveness in preventing GDM remains to be established. It has been recently shown that regular supervised home-based exercise may attenuate the decline in glucose tolerance in obese pregnant women. This study aims to conduct a single-centred, multi-sited, single-blinded randomised controlled trial examining the effect of 14 weeks of supervised home-based exercise (commenced at 14 weeks gestation) on the recurrence and severity of GDM, along with other aspects of maternal and fetal wellbeing.

Eligible participants (n = 200) will be randomly allocated to an exercise intervention (n = 100) or a control group (n = 100). The exercise intervention will involve three 60-minute home-based, supervised exercise sessions each week. This type of program overcomes many of the barriers to exercise in this population including transportation, child care issues and embarrassment associated with exercising in a public venue. The investigators have already shown this program to be both feasible and warmly accepted by obese pregnant women.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
172
Inclusion Criteria
  • women at 12-13 weeks gestation, with a history of gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy.
Exclusion Criteria
  • unable to participate in the supervised 14 week home-based exercise program
  • less than 18 years of age
  • unable to understand the implications of participation in the trial
  • women with a multiple pregnancy
  • women with pre-existing diabetes (type 1 or 2) or cardiac disease
  • women currently engaged in a structured exercise program

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Exercise groupSupervised home-based exerciseEach participant randomised to the exercise group will receive routine, regular antenatal care. In addition, these women will be required to participate in three 60-minute exercise sessions each week, starting at 14 weeks gestation, for a total of 14 weeks (i.e. to be completed by 28 weeks of gestation). All exercise sessions will be home-based and fully supervised by an experienced exercise physiologist.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitusAfter the 14 week intervention period (28 weeks gestation)
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerancePre and post-intervention (14 and 28 weeks of gestation)
Maternal aerobic fitness levelsPre and post-intervention (14 and 28 weeks gestation)
Maternal morphology (girths and skinfold measures)Pre and post-intervention (14 and 28 weeks gestation)
Maternal mental healthPre and post-intervention (14 and 28 weeks gestation)
Obstetric outcomes (rates of medical intervention during labour, birth weight, newborn anthropometrics and incidence of newborn hypoglycemia)At time of delivery (approximately 40 weeks gestation)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

King Edward Memorial Hospital

🇦🇺

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

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