Swimming intervention alleviates insulin resistance and chronic inflammation in metabolic syndrome

In view of the high incidence of metabolic syndrome and the role of exercise in promoting metabolic disorders, the present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of swimming intervention on metabolic syndrome. In the present study, a total of 100 patients with metabolic syndrome and 100 healthy individuals were included. Fasting blood was extracted from each participant, and the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-8 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients were randomly divided into five groups (groups A-E). Patients in group A was treated with conventional drug treatment. Besides conventional treatment, patients in groups B-E were also subjected to swimming intervention for 15, 30, 45 and 60 min each time, respectively, four times a week for 3 months. Changes in the homeostatic model assessment of β-cell function and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score, and in the serum levels of IL-1, hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-8 were recorded. Furthermore, muscle tissues were collected from patients, and the expression levels of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) and protein kinase B (Akt) in the tissues were detected by western blot assay. The results revealed that HOMA-IR and the serum levels of IL-1, hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-8 were significantly higher in metabolic syndrome patients as compared with those in the normal controls, while swimming intervention reduced HOMA-IR and these serum levels to different extents. Swimming intervention also promoted IRS-1 and Akt phosphorylation, and increased GLUT4 expression level. Thus, it is concluded that swimming intervention may improve metabolic syndrome through multiple pathways.