Exercise mode influences post-exercise glucose sensitivity and insulin clearance in young, healthy males and females in a sex-dependent manner: A randomized control trial.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk is lower in females than males. It has been reported that females have greater pancreatic 𝛽-cell function than males, which may at least in part contribute to the T2D risk in females. 𝛽-cell function is influenced by exercise training; however, previous trials comparing 𝛽-cell function between the sexes have not included participants matched for training status. Furthermore, the acute effects of different modes of exercise on 𝛽-cell function, and whether sex inherently influences these effects, are largely unexamined. Males and females (12/sex) completed a 120-min oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at rest (CON) and following acute bouts of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE), moderate intensity continuous (MIC) exercise, and low-load high-repetition (LLHR) resistance exercise to assess whether sex inherently influences baseline and/or post-exercise pancreatic function in the absence of pathology. We found no sex differences in basal pancreatic 𝛽-cell function. Females had greater basal insulin clearance following MIC exercise compared to males (p = 0.01) and males tended to have a higher potentiation ratio following HIIE (p = 0.07). Females also had lower glucose sensitivity following MIC exercise compared to HIIE (p = 0.007) and LLHR (p = 0.003). Insulin clearance during the OGTT was greater following HIIE as compared with CON and MIC exercise (p = 0.02). 2-H oral glucose insulin sensitivity was greater following LLHR compared to CON (p = 0.01). Acute bouts of different modes of exercise do not differentially influence 𝛽-cell function but do influence insulin clearance and insulin sensitivity. Therefore, sex and exercise mode interact to differentially influence insulin clearance and glucose sensitivity.