The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Plasma Levels of Adiponectin and Insulin Resistance Index in Males with Down's Syndrome:

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (insulin resistance) in individuals with Down's syndrome is more than healthy people, which is possibly because of the high prevalence of obesity among them. Adiponectin is one of adipose tissue-secreted adipocytokines, which plays a role in pathogenesis of obesity and insulin resistance. This study was carried out with the aim of determining the serum level of adiponectin and investigating its relationship with insulin resistance, in sedentary males with Down's syndrome after a period of aerobic exercise. In this study, 9 men with Down’s syndrome with the mean age of 26.7±3.7 years and body mass index of 29.7±7.7 performed aerobic exercise 3 sessions per week (50-45min/session) for 10 weeks. The blood samples were collected to measure the serum levels of adiponectin, glucose, and insulin in two stages: before exercise (after 12-hour fasting) and after exercise (72 hours after the last exercise session). Resistance index was used to determine insulin resistance. Data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-smirnov statistical test, t-test and Pearson correlation test. The significance level was considered to be p<0.05. In this study, aerobic exercises increased the levels of serum adiponectin up to 3.1% and decreased insulin resistance levels down to 26% in men with Down's syndrome. There was no significant correlation between adiponectin and insulin resistance index among men with Down's syndrome, before and after the exercises (r=0.51, r=0.21). The results of this study showed that change in adiponectin levels hardly occur in men with Down’s syndrome.