ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Exercise has pleiotropic positive effects for children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). It improves glycemic control, daily insulin requirements, quality-of-life, morbidity and mortality rate. Leptin and adiponectin are adipocytokines produced by adipose tissue cells. Adiponectin is anti-atherogenic, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory, whereas leptin induces insulin resistance, has thermoregulatory properties and is pro-inflammatory.

Aim: To determine the role of physical activity in T1D young patients on leptin and adiponectin levels.

Methods: Eighty children with T1D [36 (45%) boys, age: mean ± SD, 14.8 ± 3.4 years] were recruited. Mean disease duration was 5.8 ± 4 years, mean annual HbA1c: 8.0 ± 1.41. Height, weight and waist-circumference were recorded, body-mass-index (BMI) and waist-circumference to height ratio were calculated. Seven-days physical activity was assessed with pedometers and questionnaires validated for the Greek population. Serum leptin, adiponectin, HDL-C, Lp(a) was obtained after overnight fasting.

Results: Twenty (25%), 40 (50%) and 20 (25%) children were above the 75th, between the 25th and 75th percentile and below the 25th percentile, respectively, regarding physical activity. In the upper quartile group of patients, the amount of exercise correlated positively with HDL-C (beta=0.014, P=0.048) and negatively with Lp (a) (beta=-0.004, P=0.035) concentrations. Main independent predictors of leptin concentrations were gender, chronological age, weight and body mass index while main independent predictors of adiponectin concentrations were chronological age and waist to height ratio. In multiple regression models leptin concentrations were associated negatively with physical activity as a categorical variable (beta=-0.43, P=0.015) and positively with adiponectin concentrations (beta=0.46, P=0.038). Adiponectin concentrations were associated negatively with muscle mass (beta=-0.0136, P=0.020).

Conclusion: In this study a considerable proportion of T1D young patients were physically active. The results of this study indicate that physical activity has a positive effect on the health of young people with T1D by decreasing leptin and lipid concentrations.