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

Objective: To conduct a meta-anatysis 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), tow-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), ratio of TIC to HDL-C (TC/HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), or all of the above, were assessed. A secondary outcome was glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA(1)). 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 TIC, HDL-C, TC/HDL-C or TG. A trend for a statistically significant reduction in HbA(1) 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. (c) 2007 The Royal Institute of Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All. rights reserved.