Insulin Resistance and Homeostasis Model Assessment of β-Cell Function in Females With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Comparison of Aerobic and Resistance Trainings

Gestational Dabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a pregnancy-induced Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and insulin resistance occurs and diagnoses during pregnancy and gradually disappears after delivery. A mild to moderate physical activity is suggested as an adjuvant treatment for GDM; in addition, aerobic and resistance trainings might be effective in preventing or controlling GDM in the different manners. The current study aimed at comparing aerobic and resistance trainings plausible effects on insulin resistance and homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function in females with GDM.Materials & A total of 34 females with GDM at 24th week of pregnancy undergoing insulin treatment were enrolled and randomly assigned into 3 groups; 12 subjects participated in an aerobic training program (3 day/week, 30 to 45 minute/day, 50% to 70% maximum Heart Rate (HR), 11 patients participated in a resistance training (3 day/week, 2 to 3 minutes set of 15 repetitions, 50% to 70% maximum HR), and 11 participants comprised the control group and not participated in any exercise program. Fasting blood samples were obtained from the subjects to assess clinical parameters.   The results of covariance analysis indicated a significant difference on insulin plasma levels (P=0.031) and insulin resistance index (the homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (P=0.008) among the groups. The resistance training program significantly reduced the level of fasting blood sugar (P=0.031) and increased HOMA-β (P=0.031). The exercise can offer a different method to patients with GDM, which benefit from several molecular pathways, and also can be proposed as a framework to design effective GDM treatment regimens and prevention programs. However, further consecutive studies are required in order to achieve the deeper and conclusive findings and obtain the mechanisms underlying the changes on the GDM acquired by exercise.