Effect of Training and Gender on Plasma Irisin, Leptin, and Insulin Levels

Abstract

The objective of this study is the comparison of the irisin, leptin, and insulin hormone levels of the female and male elite taekwondo athletes and non-athletes. Elite taekwondo athletes (7 males, 6 females) and university students (8 males, 6 females) between the ages of 16 and 20 who do not do exercise regularly and who are moderately active have taken part in the study. In the beginning of the study, the body compositions of the participants were determined and their plasma irisin, leptin, and insulin hormone analyses were determined by means of the Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method receiving their blood samples at 8:00 a.m. after a night of staying hungry. It was found that no impact of training and gender on the irisin and insulin hormone levels had appeared jointly or separately (p>0,05) while they affected the leptin levels significantly (p<0.05). The leptin levels in females in both athletes and non-athletes were determined to be higher than males to significant extent and the leptin levels of both female and male athletes were significantly lower than non-athletes. As a result, it can be said that regular exercise and gender do not affect the levels of irisin and insulin hormones but they affect the leptin level significantly.

Circulating irisin and its connection with indices of body composition in aerobic and anaerobic endurance professional athletes: a case-control study

“…Insignificant differences were also seen between bodybuilder men and women and control women and between bodybuilder women, control women, and control men. In this study, gender did not affect irisin concentrations, which is consistent with other studies that encountered no significant main or interaction effect of gender on the irisin [21,22]. It was also found that the circulating irisin of men and women are almost similar [17,23].…”

“…Huh et al [22] used middle-aged women, while Stengel et al [17] omitted those under the age of 18, and Huh et al [25] included adolescents as participants. Moreover, a small sample size of elite taekwondo competitors (7 males and 6 females) and college students (8 males and 6 females) between the ages of 16 and 20 were the participants in a recent study [21].…”

“…This study is possibly the first case-control study to compare serum irisin in professional athletes and regular active people. Arikan et al [21], using a small sample size, reported that irisin levels are exercise independent. On the other hand, other studies examined the levels of irisin in the athlete population and revealed a connection between irisin levels and exercise and considered irisin to be one putative mediator of the positive effects of exercise on the metabolic profile [23].…”

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“…. In our study results show that irisin levels at rest are not affected by training status and/or regular exercise training (41). Kurdiova et al (2014) determined that long-term chronic exercises do not affect the skeleton muscles and blood irisin levels significantly (42).…”