Effects of different physical exercise types on health outcomes of individuals with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a prospective randomized controlled clinical study.

Objective: To explore the impacts of different types of physical exercise on health outcomes of individuals with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs).

Methods: Forty individuals with HDPs admitted to a tertiary hospital providing maternal and pediatric care between July 2023 and March 2024 were enrolled in this prospective randomized controlled clinical study and completed a ≥4-week intervention. Data were collected before the intervention and before delivery. Participants were assigned randomly to control (no exercise intervention), aerobic exercise (AE), resistance training (RT), and AE + RT groups. All participants downloaded a mobile health-education app for gestational hypertension developed by our research group. Exercise videos in the app guided participants' performance of different types of exercise. General information; physical activity and sleep quality data; morning blood pressure, lipid profiles, and urinary micro-albumin/creatinine ratios; serum soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF), and advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) concentrations; and pregnancy outcome data were collected and compared among groups.

Results: After the intervention, the physical activity status, sleep quality, morning blood pressure, lipid profiles, urinary micro-albumin/creatinine ratios, and pregnancy outcomes differed significantly among all groups comparing with control (all p < .05). In the three exercise groups, the serum sFlt-1, PlGF, and AOPPs levels improved significantly (all p < .05). All differences were most pronounced in the AE + RT group.

Limitations: The study period was relatively short. The further long-term follow-up research is needed. A larger sample size study is also needed.

Conclusions: The study results suggest that AE + RT interventions are beneficial for individuals with HDPs in clinical settings, and could be implemented with careful consideration of individuals' specific conditions.