Effect of 2-year resistance exercises on cardiovascular disease risk in prediabetes patients

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of a 2-year resistance and aerobic training on reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with prediabetes. Methods: A total of 248 patients with prediabetes were enrolled from Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from January to April 2014, and Danyang People's Hospital and The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from May to December 2014.Based on random number table method, the patients were divided into 3 groups: the resistance training group (RT group, 82 cases), the aerobic training group (AT group, 83 cases) and control group (83 cases). Participants in the RT group and the AT group underwent a total of 24 months of exercise training. Changes in indicators (blood glucose,blood lipid, etc.) at baseline and the end of 12 and 24 months among the groups were compared. Results: After intervention, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood pressure and homeostasis model 2 insulin resistance index (HOMA2-IR) in the RT and AT groups tended to decrease, and the steady state model 2 β cell function index (HOMA2-β) tended to increase. At the end of 24 months, HbA1c [5.80 (5.43, 6.20) %, 5.70 (5.50, 6.00)% vs. 6.20 (5.70, 6.60) %, all P ≤ 0.01], LDL-C [3.07 (2.69, 3.58) mmol/L, 2.97 (2.62, 3.95) mmol/L vs. 3.21(2.54, 3.78) mmol/L, all P<0.05] and HOMA2-IR [0.96 (0.82, 1.47), 1.20 (0.99, 1.43) vs. 1.34 (1.09, 1.51), all P<0.05] were significantly decreased in the RT and AT groups than in the control group. In addition, HOMA2-β [84.50 (60.55, 107.33), 93.00 (78.60, 119.75) vs. 53.40 (37.70, 80.40), all P = 0.001] was significantly increased in the AT and RT groups compared with that in the control group. There were no significant differences in triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoproteincholesterol (HDL-C) levels between the training groups and the control group (all P>0.05). After adjusting for age, sex and blood pressure, the cardiovascular risk of prediabetes was significantly reduced in RT (P =0.017) and AT groups (P =0.018). The Cox regression analyses showed that both the resistance training (HR=0.419, 95%CI =0.415-0.942, P=0.037) and the aerobic training (HR=0.310, 95%CI=0.447-0.866, P=0.026) were protective factors for cardiovascular disease in prediabetic patients after adjustment of age, sex, statins, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, which reduced the risks of cardiovascular disease in prediabetic patients by 58.1% and 69.0%, respectively. Conclusions: Two years of aerobic and resistance training interventions have obvious advantages on glycemic and insulin resistance control in prediabetes patients. The resistance training can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and it is, thus, recommended for prediabetic patients without obvious exercise contraindications.