Effects of aerobic exercise on lipids and lipoproteins in adults with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials

Kelley, G.A.; Kelley, K.S.

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2007.02.014

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Volume 121, Issue 9 , Pages 643-655, September 2007

Effects of aerobic exercise on lipids and lipoproteins in adults with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials

School of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 9190, Morgantown, WV, USA

Received 24 April 2006; received in revised form 14 November 2006; accepted 9 February 2007.

Summary

Objective

To conduct a meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials in order to examine the effects of 8 weeks or more of aerobic exercise on lipids and lipoproteins in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Methods

Studies were included if total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), ratio of TC to HDL-C (TC/HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), or all of the above, were assessed. A secondary outcome was glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA₁).

Results

Seven studies representing 220 men and women (112 exercise, 108 control) were available for pooling. Using a random-effects model, a statistically significant reduction of about 5% was found for LDL-C, whereas no statistically significant improvements were found for TC, HDL-C, TC/HDL-C or TG. A trend for a statistically significant reduction in HbA₁ was also found.

Conclusions

Although our overall results suggest that aerobic exercise lowers LDL-C in adults with Type 2 diabetes, additional randomized-controlled trials are needed on this topic.

Keywords: Exercise, Lipids, Cholesterol, Meta-analysis, Diabetes