Abstract
Objective We aimed to evaluate the effect of 12-week aerobic exercise training on fetuin-A
levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus and examine the relationships between fetuin-A
and adipocytokine levels and cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods The study included 32 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were assigned to
an exercise or a control group. The exercise group underwent 12 weeks of exercise
(consisting of a 5-min warm-up, 60-min aerobic bicycle training performed at 70% of
the maximal heart rate, a cool-down period, 5 times/week). Adiponectin, resistin,
and fetuin-A serum levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Leptin
serum levels were measured by a radioimmunoassay.
Results Exercise for 12 weeks significantly reduced serum fetuin-A (643.1±109.4 to 448.7±92.5 μg/mL,
P<0.05), leptin (11.9±7.2 to 8.6±5.7 ng/dL, P<0.05), and resistin (3.2±1.5 to 2.2±1.4 ng/mL,
P<0.05) levels, but increased adiponectin (6.9±1.9 to 8.1±1.7 µg/mL, P<0.05) levels.
In the exercise group, Δfetuin-A positively correlated with differences in weight
(r=0.654, P=0.046), body mass index (r=0.725, P=0.002), waist circumference (r=0.898,
P=0.013), and adiponectin levels (r=0.662, P=0.035).
Conclusions Aerobic exercise significantly decreased serum fetuin-A levels in type 2 diabetes
mellitus, which can be attributed to weight loss and related to increased adiponectin
levels.
Key words
cardiovascular risk factors - body mass index - bicycle training - weight loss
