Exercise May Cut Metabolic Syndrome After Liver Transplant

Exercise May Cut Metabolic Syndrome After Liver Transplant

Published: Aug 12, 2013

By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today

 

Higher exercise intensity was associated with a lower likelihood of metabolic syndrome among patients more than a year out from a liver transplant, according to a study in Liver Transplantation. 

Liver transplant recipients, who often have a low tolerance for exercise, have elevated risks of metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular disease, and Eric Kallwitz, MD, of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., and colleagues explored the relationship between physical activity and metabolic syndrome. The syndrome was defined as the presence of at least three of the following traits: impaired fasting glucose, elevated blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol, and increased waist circumference. 

Of 204 patients who were more than 3 months past their transplant, 58.8% had metabolic syndrome and slightly more than half (52%) said they didn't perform any formal exercise. 

The researchers found that increased exercise intensity -- as measured by metabolic equivalents (METS) -- was not significantly associated with a lower occurrence of metabolic syndrome in the overall patient population (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.68-1.01), although the relationship did reach statistical significance in patients who had their transplant more than a year previously (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.54-0.89). 

"The observation that exercise intensity was inversely related to metabolic syndrome post transplant is novel and suggests physical activity might provide a means to reduce metabolic syndrome complications in liver transplant recipients," the authors wrote....

 

Complete article available @ MedPage Today