The Effect of Exercise Training on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Abstract
Dyslipidemia is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Exercise training (EXTr) improves some lipid markers but not others; the literature is dated and analyses may be underpowered. To clarify which lipid markers are altered with ExTr and establish if information size had yet reached futility. We conducted a systematic review/meta-analysis, with meta-regression, to establish expected effect size in lipid profile with aerobic (AT), resistance (RT) and combined (CT = AT + RT) ExTr. We conducted trial sequence analysis (TSA) to control for type I and II error and establish if information size had reached futility. We included 148 relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ExTr, with 227 intervention groups, total 8673 participants; exercise 5273, sedentary control 3400. Total cholesterol (TC) MD – 5.90 mg/dL (95% confidence interval (CI) – 8.14, – 3.65), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) 2.11 (95% CI 1.43, 2.79), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) – 7.22 (95% CI – 9.08, – 5.35), triglycerides – 8.01 (95% CI – 10.45, – 5.58) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL) – 3.85 (95% CI – 5.49, – 2.22) all showed significant but modest 3.5–11.7%, improvements following ExTr. TSA indicated all analyses exceeded minimum information size to reach futility. CT was optimal for dyslipidemia management. Meta-regression showed every extra weekly aerobic session reduced TC – 7.68 mg/dL and for every extra week of training by – 0.5 mg/dL. Each…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 8,673 participants or records.
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