Wan-An Lu and Cheng-Deng Kuo
Introduction: This study investigated the effects of 3 months of Yang?s Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) training on the hemodynamics, fasting blood sugar (FBS), blood lipids, serum insulin, serum aldosterone, and serum endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the adults. Methods: Twenty normal controls and 22 TCC trainees were recruited to participate in this study. The hemodynamics, FBS, blood lipid, serum insulin, aldosterone, ET-1, HOMA-IR, log(HOMA), QUICKI, and TG/HDL-C before and after 3 months of TCC were compared between the 2 groups of subjects. Results: After 3 months of TCC training, the HDL-C, QUICKI, ET-1, and aldosterone were significantly increased, whereas the serum insulin, HOMA, and log(HOMA) were significantly decreased in the TCC group, as compared with the control group. Intra-group comparison shows that the HDL-C, QUICKI and aldosterone were significantly increased, while the serum insulin, HOMA-IR, log(HOMA), and ET-1 were significantly decreased after 3 months of TCC in the TCC group. The %FBS correlated significantly and negatively with the %TG/HDL-C, %QUICKI, and %ET- 1. The %Insulin correlated significantly and positively with %HOMA, and significantly and negatively with %QUICKI. Conclusion: TCC training for 3 months can increase the serum levels of ET-1 and aldosterone, and decrease serum insulin level and insulin resistance in the TCC trainees. TCC might improve the cardiovascular function and insulin sensitivity of its practitioners through regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, and the interplay among insulin, aldosterone, and ET-1.