An Investigation of the Effects of the 8-Week Intense Interval Training and Combined Strength-Endurance Training on Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) levels in Women with Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction: Several methods of physical activities have been suggested to prevent diabetes. This study was done aimed at determining the effects of the 8-week intense interval training and combined strength-endurance training on secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) levels in women with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 42 women aged 45-60 with diabetes and with the fasting blood sugar exceeding 126 mg/dL were selected and randomly assigned to three groups, including the SIT group (N =14), the combined exercise group (N =14), and the control group (N =14) who trained for 8 weeks. The SIT Group did the exercise 3 times a week, with 4-10 times of repetitions and the 30-second Wingate test was done on the ergometer with the maximum effort. The combined exercise group took the aerobic exercise 3 sessions a week with 60% of the maximum heart rate and 2 sessions per week of the resistance exercise taken at 70% with one repetition at maximum. The control group did not have any regular activity. The SPARC was measured using the blood samples 24 hours before and after the training periods. To analyze the data and determine the differences among the groups, the dependent t-test and covariance were used. Results: The results showed that changes in the serum SPARC were not significant followed by any of the three SIT (p=0.54), combined (p=0.92), and control (p=0.52) groups. The comparison among the groups showed no significant difference among them (p=0.537). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggested that the 2 training protocols had the same effects on the factors related to insulin resistance. Furthermore, these two protocols were equally effective in improving SPARC. Thus, the use of the 2 training methods can be similarly efficient in improving insulin resistance.