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An Exercise Intervention to Prevent Gestational Diabetes

University of Massachusetts, Amherst logo

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Status

Completed

Conditions

Gestational Diabetes

Treatments

Behavioral: Physical activity
Behavioral: Heath & Wellness

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other
NIH

Identifiers

NCT00728377
R01DK074876 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
1R01DK074876-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
DK74876

Details and patient eligibility

About

Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at substantially increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity, currently at epidemic rates in the United States. GDM, therefore, identifies a population of women at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and thus provides an excellent opportunity to intervene years before the development of this disorder. It is well recognized that acute as well as chronic physical activity reduce fasting plasma glucose as well as improve glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have suggested that women with higher levels of physical activity have reduced risk of GDM. Therefore, we will test the hypothesis that an exercise intervention is an effective tool for preventing GDM among women with a history of GDM.

Full description

The primary goals of the application are to investigate the effects of a motivationally-tailored, individually targeted 12-wk physical activity intervention on 1) risk of GDM in women at high risk of the condition, 2) serum biomarkers associated with insulin resistance, 3) and the adoption and maintenance of exercise during pregnancy. Secondary goals are to investigate the impact of the intervention on gestational weight gain and selected birth outcomes. The overall goal of the intervention is to encourage pregnant women to achieve the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy (30 minutes or more of moderate- intensity activity on most days of the week) through increasing walking and developing a more active lifestyle. The intervention draws from the theory of Stages of Motivational Readiness for Change and Social Cognitive Theory constructs for physical activity behavior and will take into account the specific social, cultural, economic, and physical environmental challenges faced by women of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. The application is innovative in being the first, to our knowledge, to test a physical activity intervention designed to prevent GDM among high risk women. The intervention protocol can readily be translated into clinical practice in underserved and minority populations.

Enrollment

488 patients

Sex

Female

Ages

18 to 40 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • history of gestational diabetes or overweight (>25 kg/m2) with family history of type 2 diabetes
  • sedentary

Exclusion criteria

  • history of diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease or chronic renal disease
  • current medications which adversely influence glucose tolerance
  • not planning to continue the pregnancy to term
  • >16 weeks gestation
  • contraindications to participating in moderate physical activity
  • inability to read English at a 6th grade level
  • self-reported participation in >30 min of moderate or vigorous-intensity exercise on >3 days/wk
  • prior participation in the study
  • non-singleton pregnancy

Trial design

Primary purpose

Prevention

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

488 participants in 2 patient groups

Heath & Wellness
Active Comparator group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Heath & Wellness
Exercise
Experimental group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Physical activity

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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