Synergistic association of changes in serum uric acid and triglycerides with changes in insulin resistance after walking exercise in community-dwelling older women

Introduction: Serum uric acid (SUA) and triglyceride (TG) levels are strongly correlated with insulin resistance; however, the association after a walking exercise program in community-dwelling older women has not been investigated. Methods: The present study included 100 postmenopausal women (mean +/- standard deviation, 68 +/- 7 years) from a rural village in Japan. The Nordic walking program of 120 min per week was performed for 12 weeks. Before and after the intervention, SUA, TG, various relevant factors and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured. Results and conclusions: Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that baseline TG and -glutamyltransferase (GGT) were significantly associated with baseline HOMA-IR. After the 12-week training program, changes in TG, SUA and GGT were significantly associated with changes in HOMA-IR. In addition to their direct associations, we observed a synergistic association between changes in TG and SUA and changes in HOMA-IR. Participants were divided into three groups (tertiles) according to changes in TG and SUA. The tertiles of changes in SUA correlated significantly with changes in HOMA-IR in participants in the tertile with the greatest decrease in TG (r = 0.525, p = 0.001), but not in the other two tertiles of change in TG (r = 0.049, p = 0.699). There was a significant interaction between SUA and TG for changes in HOMA-IR ( = 0.281, p = 0.005). These results suggest that changes in TG and SUA are synergistic factors associated with changes in insulin resistance after a 12-week walking exercise program in community-dwelling older women.