The deleterious effects of physical inactivity on elements of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in Central Africans at high cardiovascular risk

AimWe aimed to describe the physical activity and to investigate the association between classical hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and new inflammation, IDF-defined metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance CV risk factors.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study based on interviews and physical and biochemistry measurements among Central African patients.MeasurementsWaist circumference (WC), blood pressure, weight and height to calculate body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, CRP, ERS, uric acid, cholesterol (C), LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides, elements of homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) including insulin, HOMA index, QUICKI, insulin sensitivity (%S), beta-cell function (%β) and insulin resistance (IR).FindingsOf the 60 patients included, 30 (50%) were physically inactive versus 30 (50%) active. In pooled analyses, in men and in women, there was significant and positive correlation between WC and seating/laying down position (WC = 92.41 + 1.49 seating time in hours, R2 = 0.11; P < 0.0001). The mean value of CRP and ERS were higher and those of all indices of HOMA were lower in inactive patients. The discriminant function for physical activity was Z (score = barycentre) = −7.36 + 1.013 HOMA index where −1.4 was the barycentre for active and +1.4 for inactive. HOMA index >2.42 was the optimal cut-off value to detect physically inactive patients: sensitivity = 93.3%, specificity = 100%, area under ROC = 0.991 ± 0.01 95% = 0.975–1.0; P < 0.0001.ConclusionThe association between low-grade inflammation markers, insulin resistance and physical inactivity favours the hypothesis that a low-grade inflammatory status and enhanced insulin, sensitivity may constitute a part of the CV benefits from physical activity.