Insulin resistance and hyperglycemia predispose individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to endothelial dysfunction and a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Increased CVD risk in individuals with T2DM persists despite optimal pharmacological therapy, highlighting the need to identify complementary lifestyle interventions that improve cardiometabolic functions in this population. Evidence from animal models suggests that heat exposure improves metabolic functions. Notably, weekly heat exposure for 16 weeks blunts hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia induced by a high fat diet in mice. In parallel, studies in humans have shown that heat exposure improves vascular endothelial function. Based on such findings, it has been suggested that heat therapy may represent an effective lifestyle intervention to improve cardiometabolic functions. However, only 1 study has examined the impact of a heat therapy intervention on individuals with T2DM, demonstrating that 6 weeks of heat exposure reduces fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1C. No study has considered potential vascular benefits of heat therapy in individuals with T2DM. This project will investigate cardiometabolic responses to repeated heat exposure in men and women with T2DM. We will test the hypothesis that 12 weeks of heat therapy improves postprandial fatty acid handling, insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in individuals with T2DM.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
44
Participants will immerse their feet in a foot bath that contains thermoneutral water
Participants will immerse their feet in a foot bath that contains hot water
Centre ÉPIC, Montreal Heart Institute
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
RECRUITINGHemoglobin A1C (HbA1C)
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Postprandial metabolism following meal
Quantified over a 6-hour period following the ingestion of a standardized liquid meal
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Peripheral endothelial function
Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Post-occlusion reactive hyperemia
Reactive hyperemia following 5 minutes of forearm ischemia
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Ischemic handgrip exercise
Reactive hyperemia following ischemic handgrip exercise
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Arterial stiffness
Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
Blood pressure
24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
Time frame: Change from baseline to 12 weeks
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