The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cardiac Autonomic System in Middle-Aged Men with Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis Study

Cardiac autonomic system dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients can lead to diabetic neuropathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the meta-analysis of the effect of aerobic exercise on cardiac autonomic system in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes.

A total of 256 related articles were selected by searching in the Pubmed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Magiran databases. Finally, considering the inclusion criteria, 11 articles were selected for evaluation and analysis after validation using PEDro scale. PICOS method was used to extract data from each article. Then, they were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta Analysis V3.exe software with group comparisons method and random and fixed effects size models of each study.

Regular participation in aerobic training programs in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes had significant effects on SDNN as time domain index (p = 0.004; effect size = 0.33) and HF as frequency domain index (P = 0.017; effect size = 0.23). Also, these exercises had an insignificant effect on the rMSSD as time domain index (p = 0.096; effect size = 0.50) and LF as frequency domain index (p = 0.184; effect size = 0.47).

Regular participation in moderate intensity aerobic exercise in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes can partially prevent the effects of this disease on cardiac autonomic system function. Therefore, it is recommended for middle-aged diabetic patients to consider exercise as one of their therapeutic modalities.