An evaluation of basal lactate in athletes and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Metabolic Dysfunction (MetD) is the co-occurrence of conditions including insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Decreased physical activities influence numerous pathological and clinical conditions such as MetD and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In some cases, type 2 diabetes mellitus follows or coexists with MetD, though not always. Lactate level indicates oxidative capacity which is reduced in MetD and type 2 diabetes mellitus as such it is hypothesized that lactate can be a useful diagnostic tool in the detection of these conditions. In this study 88 persons which include athletes in training, and persons who did not exercise regularly were selected and screened for MetD and diabetes mellitus using the NCEP ATP iii for MetD and HbA1c and fasting glucose for diabetes mellitus. They were then categorized into groups: male athlete (MA), female athlete (FA), male diabetes patients (MD), female diabetes patients (FD), Female control (FC), male control (MC) and participants with metabolic syndrome (MetD). Basal lactate was assessed for all categories. Basal lactate was significantly higher (P<0.05) in persons with MetD and diabetes mellitus for both males and females. Lactate levels changed significantly as glucose levels exceeded 6 mmol/L. Fasting blood glucose concentration below 6 mmol/L was not associated with any significant change in lactate concentration. Changes in mean blood lactate are consistent with changes in mean HbA1c across the groups. Lactate can be used as a parameter in diagnosing MetD and as a tool to monitor type 2 diabetes.