Effects of Single Bout and Short Term Aerobic Exercise on C-Reactive Protein in Type-2 Diabetes Patients: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Type-2 diabetes is a leading risk for cardiovascular diseases and events due to ease of develop­ment of atherosclerosis in people with type-diabetes. Chronic inflammation is a major driver of atherosclerosis in type-2 diabetes and it has been linked to elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level. The objective of this study was to determine whether CRP is amenable to aerobic exercise. A total of 40 adults diagnosed with type-2 diabetes patients were sampled randomly, and later, conveniently allocated into exercise and control groups. All the subjects were on the diabetes exchange diet as recommended by their Dieticians. Results show that the glucose level of the subjects of this study was fairly under control ((glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) = 0.80±0.11% for each of the group)). A weak negative correlation was found between ex­ercise-induced reductions in CRP and HbA1c (r = -0.345; p = 0.029). Significant (p < 0.05) difference in CRP was found between study and control groups following single bout (30 min) aerobic exercise, however, no significant (p > 0.05) difference in CRP was found between study and control groups after 8-weeks. Single bout or short-term aerobic exercises does not reduce CRP in people with fairly controlled type-2 diabetes mellitus.