The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of resistance training (RT) on novel cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We enrolled 52 overweight/obese, type 2 diabetic patients, with inadequate glycemic control (HbA1c > 6.5 %), but without overt diabetic vascular complications. Participants were randomly assigned into two equivalent groups (n = 26): (1) Resistance exercise group: subjects underwent a supervised RT program (3-times/week, 60 min/session, 2-3 sets of 8 machine-weight exercises, 60-80 % of one-repetition maximum). (2) Control group (CG): at study entrance, they received a structured exercise counseling to increase daily physical activity. Clinical parameters, cardiorespiratory capacity, glycemic and lipid profile, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), fibrinogen were measured before and after 3 months. RT significantly reduced glycemic indexes, insulin resistance and systolic blood pressure, compared to CG (p < 0.05). Moreover, exercise-treated patients conferred a remarkable downregulation in ApoB levels (from 135.92 ± 30.97 mg/dL to 85.9 ± 26.46 mg/dL, p < 0.001) as compared to CG (from 126.33 ± 36.59 mg/dL to 116.23 ± 27.52 mg/dL, p = 0.872) (p < 0.001). Similarly, ApoB/ApoA-I ratio was considerably decreased in REG rather than CG (-0.32 ± 0.09 vs 0.02 ± 0.01, p < 0.001). Notably, ApoA-I, Lp(a), hsCRP, fibrinogen, the rest of lipid parameters, body weight and exercise capacity remained unaltered in both groups (p > 0.05). Among variables, HOMA-IR reduction was found to be an independent predictor of changes in ApoB/ApoA-I ratio (R (2) = 0.406, p = 0.041) in REG. Long-term RT ameliorated glycemic control, insulin sensitivity and ApoB/ApoA-I ratio in individuals with T2DM. Although we did not observe significant benefits in the rest of cardiovascular risk factors, our results indicate a merely beneficial impact of RT.
