Physical Activity During Pregnancy and Preterm Birth Among Women With Gestational Diabetes

Physical activity, as a modifiable factor, emerges as a primary intervention strategy for the prevention and management of gestational diabetes (GD). Among women with GD, the association of physical activity during pregnancy with preterm birth remains unclear.

To examine the association of accelerometer-derived physical activity metrics and patterns with preterm birth among women with GD.

This prospective cohort study recruited pregnant women with GD in Hangzhou, China, from August 2019 to August 2023 as part of the Westlake Precision Birth Cohort study. Statistical analysis was performed between August and November 2023.

Wearable accelerometer-derived physical activity metrics and patterns. Measurements of physical activity via wearable accelerometer were performed at a median (IQR) of 25.4 (24.6-26.6) weeks' gestation.

Preterm birth was determined through the examination of delivery records. Incident preterm birth was defined as the delivery of infants before completing 37 weeks of gestation.

Among the 1427 women meeting the inclusion criteria, the mean (SD) age was 31.3 (3.8) years, and there were 80 cases of preterm birth. An increase in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and the fraction of physical activity energy expenditure derived from MVPA exhibited an inverse association with preterm birth, with an odds ratio per 30 minutes of 0.64 (95% CI, 0.42-0.98) and an odds ratio per SD of 0.69 (95% CI, 0.55-0.88). In the dose-response analysis, there was a progressive decrease in the odds of preterm birth with increasing duration of MVPA per day, reaching a plateau at approximately 74 minutes per day. Furthermore, the findings indicated that active MVPA (MVPA ≥30 minutes per day), whether it was concentrated into a few days or followed a more regular pattern, had similar beneficial association with preterm birth.

In this prospective cohort study, MVPA during pregnancy exhibited an inverse association with preterm birth among women with GD. Concentrated physical activity was associated with similar benefits in reducing preterm birth risk as regular physical activity.