Dose-response relationships of resistance training in Type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BackgroundGlobally, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for approximately 90% of diabetes cases. Resistance training (RT) is frequently employed to diminish Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) and Fast Blood Glucose (FBG) levels in T2DM patients. Yet, the specific dose-response relationships between RT variables such as training duration, frequency, and intensity for T2DM remain under-researched.ObjectivesThis meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the overarching effects of RT on HbA1c and FBG metrics and to provide dose-response relationships of RT variables. This was achieved by examining randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported reductions in HbA1c and FBG among T2DM patients.MethodsComprehensive literature searches were conducted up to 25th February 2023 across databases including EMBASE, Pubmed, Cochrane, CENTRAL, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and the Chinese Biomedical Database. The Physical Therapy Evidence Database (PEDro) was leveraged to appraise the quality of selected studies based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 16.Results26 studies that include 1336 participants met the criteria for inclusion. RT significantly reduced HbA1c and FBG levels in comparison to control groups (P