Caucasian and south Asian men show equivalent improvements in surrogate biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic health following 6-weeks of supervised resistance training

Abstract

Background: The South Asian population have greater cardiovascular risk than their age-matched Caucasian counterparts, characterized by unfavorable biomarkers. South Asians may also be partially resistant to the pleiotropic benefits of physical activity on cardiovascular health. There is a current absence of studies that compare markers of cardio-metabolic health between Caucasians and South Asians employing resistance exercise. This study set out to compare the response in biomarkers of cardio-metabolic health in Caucasians and South Asians in response to resistance exercise. Methods: Caucasian (n=15, 25.5 ± 4.8 yrs) and South Asian (n=13, 25.4 ± 7.0 yrs) males completed a 6-week progressive resistance exercise protocol. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, and their product insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides (TRIGS), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol (TC), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), asymmetric dimythylarginine (ADMA), L-arginine (L-ARG) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were established at baseline and following resistance exercise. Results: There were significant improvements in fasting glucose, TC, LDL, HDL and VEGF in both groups following resistance exercise (p<0.05, for all). No change was observed in insulin, HOMA-IR, TRIGS, ADMA, L-ARG following resistance exercise (p>0.05, in both groups). CRP increased in the South Asian group (p<0.05) but not the Caucasian group (p>0.05) Conclusions: The cardio-metabolic response to resistance exercise is comparable in young Caucasian and South Asian males though inflammatory response to exercise may be prolonged in South Asians.

Roles of physical exercise-induced MiR-126 in cardiovascular health of type 2 diabetes

“…For example, a single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise reduces fasting glucose (FG) level, but less effectively than HIIT in patients with T2DM [ 91 ]. Resistance exercise can lead to a modest reductions in FG [ 68 , 92 , 93 ]. RT enhances glucose uptake via increasing transport of glucose into skeletal muscle by GLUT4 translocation [ 94 , 95 ].…”

“…Akt can also phosphorylate glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK3β) for inactivation, which reduces inhibition of GS to increase glycogen with insulin sensitivity improvement which can increase skeletal muscle glucose absorption by reducing adipokines, inflammation, and oxidative stress [96]. RT can also considerably lower the inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to increase insulin sensitivity and decrease the risk of CVD [68,92]. The expression of miR-126 can be surprisingly increased or maintained well in circulating EPC-MVs when the plasma glucose level is well-controlled in diabetic patients by drug management [46].…”

Muscle Protein Synthesis and Muscle/Metabolic Responses To Resistance Exercise Training in South Asian and White European Men

“…It is worth noting again at this point that the study was not powered to detect differences in metabolic responses to exercise and these ndings should be considered exploratory. In the study of Knox and colleagues 25 , where insulin resistance was measured by HOMA-IR, no changes were observed in either White Europeans or South Asians, likely re ecting the short term nature of the study and the measure of insulin resistance employed. On, the other hand the study of Misra et al 23 found that insulin sensitivity increased and HbA1c decreased, with decreases similar in magnitude to those seen in with European populations in previous meta-analyses e.g.…”

“…The study of Misra made no measure of muscle strength, but this has been measured in the work of Knox et al 25,26 . In response to a 6-week progressive resistance training programme, young healthy South Asian men were found to have similar increase in upper body strength, compared to White European men, although increases in lower body strength were attenuated in South Asians.…”

Análisis de la veracidad de determinadas creencias asociadas habitualmente al entrenamiento de fuerza. Una revisión narrativa (Analysis of the veracity of certain beliefs frequently associated to resistance training. A narrative review)

“…En el estudio realizado por Knox et al (2019) no se evaluó el porcentaje de grasa corporal, pero se verificó que el entrenamiento de fuerza tuvo un impacto positivo en los niveles de glucosa y colesterol en ayunas y en el factor de crecimiento endotelial vascular. La proteína C reactiva se incrementó además en unos de los dos grupos experimentales.…”