Gut related inflammation and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with CAD and type 2 diabetes: a sub-study of a randomized controlled trial on exercise training.

Aune SK; Byrkjeland R;  Solheim S; Arnesen H; Trøseid M; Awoyemi A; Seljeflot I; Helseth R;

Diabetology & metabolic syndrome [Diabetol Metab Syndr] 2021 Apr 01; Vol. 13 (1), pp. 36. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 01.

Aim: Gut leakage has been shown to associate with low-grade inflammation and lower cardiorespiratory fitness in diabetic subjects. We aimed to investigate whether gut leakage markers related to cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with both coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes, and whether these were affected by long-term exercise training.
Methods: Patients with angiographically verified coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 137) were randomized to either 12 months exercise intervention or conventional follow-up. A cardiopulmonary exercise test and fasting blood samples were obtained before and after intervention to assess VO 2 peak and the biomarkers soluble CD14, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein and intestinal fatty-acid binding protein as markers of gut leakage.
Results: 114 patients completed the intervention satisfactory. VO 2 peak correlated inversely to sCD14 (r = - 0.248, p = 0.004) at baseline. Dividing sCD14 into quartiles (Q), VO 2 peak was significantly higher in Q1 vs. Q2-4 (p = 0.001), and patients in Q2-4 (sCD14 > 1300 ng/mL) had an OR of 2.9 (95% CI 1.2-7.0) of having VO 2 peak below median (< 23.8 ml/kg/min) at baseline. There were no statistically significant differences in changes in gut leakage markers between the two randomized groups (all p > 0.05) after 12 months.
Conclusions: Cardiorespiratory fitness related inversely to sCD14, suggesting physical capacity to be associated with gut leakage in patients with CAD and T2DM. Long-term exercise training did not affect circulating gut leakage markers in our population. Trial registration NCT01232608,