Determining the effect size of aerobic exercise training on the standard lipid profile in sedentary adults with three or more metabolic syndrome factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Gina Wood; Emily Taylor; Vanessa Ng; Anna Murrell; Aditya Patil; Tom van der Touw; Ronald Sigal; Mitch Wolden; Neil Smart

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2021-103999

Determining the effect size of aerobic exercise training on the standard lipid profile in sedentary adults with three or more metabolic syndrome factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Br J Sports Med. 2021 Jun 30:bjsports-2021-103999. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2021-103999. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Gina Wood^{1

2}, Emily Taylor², Vanessa Ng³, Anna Murrell⁴, Aditya Patil², Tom van der Touw², Ronald Sigal⁵, Mitch Wolden⁶, Neil Smart²

Affiliations

¹ School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University Faculty of Health Sciences, Perth, Western Australia, Australia gina.wood@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.
² School of Science and Technology, University of New England School of Science and Technology, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
³ School of Rural Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁶ Physical Therapy, University of Jamestown, Jamestown, North Dakota, USA.

PMID: 34193471
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2021-103999

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the change in the standard lipid profile (SLP) of adults diagnosed with ≥3 metabolic syndrome (MetS) factors following aerobic exercise training (AET); and to investigate whether study/intervention covariates are associated with this change.

Design: Systematic review with univariate meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Data sources: English language searches of online databases from inception until July 2020. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: (1) Published randomised controlled human trials with study population ≥10 per group; (2) sedentary adults with ≥3 MetS factors but otherwise free of chronic disease, not pregnant/lactating; (3) AET-only intervention with duration ≥12 weeks; and (4) reporting pre-post intervention SLP outcomes.

Results: Various univariate meta-analyses pooled 48 data sets of 2990 participants. Aerobic exercise training significantly (P<.001) improved all lipids (mmol/L mean difference ranges, 95% CIs): total cholesterol, -0.19 (-0.26 to -0.12) to -0.29 (-0.36 to -0.21); triglycerides, -0.17 (-0.19 to -0.14) to -0.18 (-0.24 to -0.13); high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), 0.05 (0.03 to 0.07) to 0.10 (0.05 to 0.15); and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), -0.12 (-0.16 to -0.9) to -0.20 (-0.25 to -0.14). Meta-regression showed that intensity may explain change in triglycerides and volume may explain change in HDL-C and LDL-C.

Conclusion: Aerobic exercise training positively changes the SLP of sedentary and otherwise healthy adults with ≥3 MetS factors. Adjusting AET intervention training variables may increase the effects of AET on triglycerides and HDL-C.

Prospero registration number: CRD42020151925.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; cholesterol; exercise training; lipids; metabolism.

Publication types

Review