Water exercise had the greatest effect on systolic blood pressure (SUCRA 84.9) and total cholesterol (SUCRA 93.1), while combined training was best for triglycerides (SUCRA 96.2).
Meta-Analysis (n=1,407)
Do different types of exercise (aerobic, resistance, combined, water) improve vascular function and blood lipids in postmenopausal women?
Different exercise modalities offer specific cardiovascular benefits for postmenopausal women, with water exercise best for SBP and TC, combined training best for TG, HDL-C, and DBP, and resistance training best for LDL-C.
This study aimed to compare and rank the effectiveness of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance training (RT), combined training (CT), and water exercise (WE) on vascular function and blood lipids in postmenopausal women using a network meta-analysis (NMA). METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, and EBSCO (SPORTDiscus) databases to identify randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of exercise on vascular function and blood lipids in postmenopausal women. The retrieval period was from inception to March 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the retrieved articles, extracted pertinent data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. RESULTS: A total of 38 studies involving 1407 patients were included in this study. The results of the NMA indicated that WE had the greatest effect on systolic blood pressure (SBP) (surface under the cumulative ranking SUCRA = 84.9) and total cholesterol (TC) (SUCRA = 93.1); CT had the greatest effect on triglycerides (TG) (SUCRA = 96.2), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (SUCRA = 94.8), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (SUCRA = 91.1); RT had the greatest effect on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (SUCRA = 79.4). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that exercise can effectively improve the PWV, SBP, and DBP and the levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C in postmenopausal women. WE had the best effect on improving TC and SBP. CT had the best effect on improving TG, HDL-C, and DBP. To improve LDL-C, RT can achieve a good effect. Considering the limitations of NMA, more RCTS need to be performed in the future to provide more direct evidence of the effectiveness of various exercise interventions on vascular health in postmenopausal women.
Xin et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis in Postmenopausal women (n=1,407). Aerobic exercise, resistance training, combined training, and water exercise vs. Network meta-analysis comparing different exercise types was evaluated on Vascular function and blood lipids (SBP, DBP, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C). Water exercise had the greatest effect on systolic blood pressure (SUCRA 84.9) and total cholesterol (SUCRA 93.1), while combined training was best for triglycerides (SUCRA 96.2).
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: