Adipokines as Predictive Biomarkers for Training Adaptation in Subjects with Multimorbidity-A Hypothesis-Generating...

Area of Science:

• Exercise physiology
• Metabolic disease research
• Biomarker discovery

Background:

• Physical exercise benefits chronic conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular disease, and osteoarthritis.
• Patients with chronic conditions often have multiple comorbidities due to shared risk factors.
• Adipokines are emerging biomarkers for exercise and disease management, but their role in multimorbidity is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of adipokines (leptin, adiponectin, resistin) as biomarkers in individuals with multimorbidity undergoing exercise intervention.
• To correlate adipokine levels with training adaptations, specifically changes in maximal oxygen uptake (V·O2max).

Main Methods:

• Assessed leptin, adiponectin, and resistin in 39 participants with at least two chronic conditions or risk factors.
• Measured adipokines before and after a six-month exercise and lifestyle intervention program ('MultiPill-Exercise').
• Correlated baseline adipokine levels with changes in relative V·O2max.

Main Results:

• A significant negative correlation was found between baseline leptin and training effect on relative V·O2max.
• Baseline leptin explained 35% of the variance in V·O2max change after three months and 23% after six months.
• No significant correlations were reported for adiponectin or resistin.

Conclusions:

• Leptin may serve as a useful surrogate biomarker for monitoring exercise-based lifestyle interventions in patients with multimorbidity.
• Baseline leptin levels could help predict individual responses to exercise training in this population.