Influence of an exercise intervention plus an optimal Mediterranean diet adherence during pregnancy on the telomere length of the placenta. The GESTAFIT project

Marta Flor-Alemany; Pedro Acosta-Manzano; Jairo H Migueles; Alfonso Varela-López; Laura Baena-García; José L Quiles; Virginia A Aparicio

doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2023.04.002

Influence of an exercise intervention plus an optimal Mediterranean diet adherence during pregnancy on the telomere length of the placenta. The GESTAFIT project

Placenta. 2023 May:136:42-45. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2023.04.002. Epub 2023 Apr 5.

Authors

Marta Flor-Alemany¹, Pedro Acosta-Manzano², Jairo H Migueles³, Alfonso Varela-López⁴, Laura Baena-García⁵, José L Quiles⁴, Virginia A Aparicio⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology and Biomedical Research Centre, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Sport and Health University Research Centre, University of Granada, Spain. Electronic address: floralemany@ugr.es.
² Sport and Health University Research Centre, University of Granada, Spain; Physical Activity for Health Promotion, CTS-1018 Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Institute of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of Graz, Austria.
³ Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden; PROFITH "Promoting FITness and Health Through Physical Activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
⁴ Department of Physiology, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology and Biomedical Research Centre, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
⁵ Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, IBS, Granada, Spain.
⁶ Department of Physiology, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology and Biomedical Research Centre, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Sport and Health University Research Centre, University of Granada, Spain.

PMID: 37031574
DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2023.04.002

Abstract

We aimed to investigate whether the effects of exercise on placental relative telomere length (RTL) after delivery are modulated by the Mediterranean diet [MD] adherence in 65 pregnant women (control n = 34, exercise n = 31). No differences were found in placental RTL between the exercise and the control groups (p = 0.557). The interaction-term between exercise and MD adherence with placental RTL was significant (p = 0.001). Specifically, women in the exercise group showed longer placental RTL after birth compared to controls (referent group), only for those women with a high MD adherence (mean difference = 0.467, p=0.010). A concurrent-exercise training plus an optimal MD adherence during pregnancy might prevent the placental RTL shortening.

Keywords: Diet; Exercise; Mediterranean; Placenta; Telomere.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Diet, Mediterranean*
Exercise Therapy
Female
Humans
Placenta*
Pregnancy
Telomere
Telomere Shortening