Blood Parameters in Adults with Intellectual Disability at Rest and After Endurance Exercise

Clinically, adults with intellectual disability (ID) appear less physically fit than people without ID, yet formal endurance evaluation has not previously been reported. We hypothesized that the immune system in adults with ID can be positively influenced from 4 weeks of endurance training. Healthy subjects with ID ages from 43 to 55 years were included in the study. The subjects (n = 22) exercised on a treadmill for 30-40 min/d for 4 day/wk/4 wks. Blood samples were drawn at rest and immediately after the last exercise training. Plasma concentration of creatine kinase (CK), myoglobin (Mb), glutamine, and uric acid (UA) as biomarkers of muscle stress were measured. The results indicate that following the exercise program the plasma glutamine and UA increased significantly (p < 0.05) from pre- to post-training levels, whereas CK isoenzyme and Mb levels showed no changes. In conclusion, 4 weeks of endurance training increased concentration of plasma glutamine and UA, which might be useful in the monitoring of training responses in adults with ID.