Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Diastolic blood Pressure in Preclinical Medical Students of Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore

Objectives: To evaluate the response of acute bout of moderate exercise on DBP in preclinical medical students of Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), Lahore and to compare it with gender, family history, lifestyle and waist-hip-ratio of the study participants. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in the Department of Physiology, SIMS from May to December 2019. Ninety-three (93) healthy male and female MBBS students were recruited through nonprobability convenient sampling. Socio-demographic components were gathered using a ques-tionnaire. Anthropometric data (height, weight and waist-hip-ratio) and resting DBP was recorded before the exercise. All participants underwent exercise challenge on a treadmill. Post-exercise DBP was measured by taking serial recordings at zero minutes, 2 minutes and 5 minutes after exercise cessation. Data was analyzed using SPSSv20. Results: Within the 93 participants, 87(93.5%) were physically inactive, with only 6(6.5%) were physically active. In comparison with the baseline DBP, the DBP at zero and 2 minutes post exercise was statistically significant (p<0.001) in study participants. There was no significant correlation between DBP immediately after exercise and gender (p = 0.751); family history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus (p = 0.603); and lifestyle (p = 0.954). A non-significant (p = 0.636) yet positive correlation was observed between post exercise DBPand waist-hip-ratio among males. Conclusion: Our study revealed that an acute bout of exercise significantly raised the DBPimmediately after exercise. This rise in BP was not significantly related to gender, lifestyle and family history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Keywords: Diastolic blood pressure, aerobic exercise, waist-hip-ratio, medical students, treadmill How to cite: Shafiq M., Qutab M., Javaid S., Fatima R., Ijaz M., Shafiq A. Effect of acute aerobic exercise on diastolic blood pressure in preclinical medical students of Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore. Esculapio 2021;17(02):170-174.