Mechanisms of Insulin Resistance and Exercise in South Asians
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effects of exercise training on insulin sensitivity in South Asians at risk of diabetes: the roles of skeletal muscle microvasculature and mitochondrial metabolism
IRAS ID
265320
Contact name
Jason Gill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Clinical Research & Development
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Type 2 diabetes is a major public health problem with worldwide cases projected to rise from ~400 million, currently, to ~600 million by 2035. The risk of diabetes is 2-4 fold higher in South Asians (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan) compared to white Europeans. South Asians also develop diabetes 5-10 years earlier and at lower body weights than white Europeans. A key factor influencing risk of type 2 diabetes is a reduction in the ability of muscle to respond appropriately to insulin to take up glucose (sugar) from the blood, termed insulin resistance. There is growing evidence that lower levels of fitness and capacity of muscle to burn fat (compared with white Europeans) contributes to South Asians' insulin resistance and higher diabetes risk, but the extent to which this can be improved by exercise is unclear. The aim of the study is to determine the extent to which insulin resistance can be improved by an exercise training intervention in South Asian adults, and to identify specific changes in muscle which are responsible for this improvement.
The study is a randomised controlled trial including 66 South Asian adults at increased risk of diabetes randomly assigned (1:1:1) to either aerobic exercise training, resistance exercise training interventions, or usual lifestyle (control). We will assess the effects on insulin resistance, using a euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp, the gold-standard method. We will also identify how exercise training improves insulin resistance by measuring effects of the exercise intervention on: the ability of muscle to burn fat within organelles within muscle called mitochondria, on the number of small blood vessels within the muscle structure (called the microvasculature), and the ability of these small blood vessels to relax. This knowledge will help to optimise lifestyle-based diabetes prevention interventions in South Asians and to identify potential new treatment approaches.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
19/WS/0136
Date of REC Opinion
15 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion