No acute hyperglycemia induced impairment in brachial artery flow-mediated dilation before or after aerobic exercise training in young recreationally active males

Abstract

There is some evidence that transient endothelial dysfunction induced by acute hyperglycemia may be attenuated by a single bout of aerobic exercise. However, the impact of aerobic exercise training on acute hyperglycemia-induced endothelial dysfunction has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of aerobic exercise training on the endothelial function response to acute hyperglycemia. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was assessed in 24 healthy males (21 ± 1 years) pre-, 60 and 90 min post ingestion of 75 g of glucose. Participants completed a four-week control (CON; n = 13) or exercise training (EX; n = 11) intervention. The EX group completed four weeks of cycling exercise (30 min, 4×/week at 65% work rate peak). Cardiorespiratory fitness ([Formula: see text]O₂peak) increased and resting HR decreased in EX, but not CON post-intervention (p < 0.001). Glucose and insulin increased (p < 0.001) following glucose ingestion, with no significant difference pre- and post-intervention. In contrast to previous research, FMD was unaffected by glucose-ingestion, pre- and post-intervention in both groups. In conclusion, acute hyperglycemia did not impair endothelial function, before or after exercise training. Relatively high baseline fitness ([Formula: see text]O₂peak ~ 46 mL/kg/min) and young age may have contributed to the lack of impairment observed. Further research is needed to examine the impact of exercise training on hyperglycemia-induced impairments in endothelial function in sedentary males and females.

Keywords: Acute hyperglycemia; Endothelial function; FMD; Post-prandial hyperglycemia.