Postprandial triglyceride responses to aerobic exercise and extended-release niacin.

What this study found

Aerobic exercise lowered postprandial triglyceride responses, whereas extended-release niacin did not improve postprandial triglycerides despite lowering fasting triglycerides. Exercise and niacin each reduced triglyceride AUC_T versus control by 13% and 23%, respectively (P = 0.001 for both), but only exercise reduced AUC_I by 32%; niacin and niacin plus exercise were not significantly different from control for AUC_I. Peak triglycerides were 404 +/- 35 mg/dL with exercise, 400 +/- 35 mg/dL with niacin, 360 +/- 34 mg/dL with niacin plus exercise, and 490 +/- 35 mg/dL in control, with time…

Study & population

Randomized crossover human study in 15 sedentary adult men with metabolic syndrome (NCEP ATP III criteria), ages 30-65 years.

Intervention

Extended-release niacin (Niaspan) was taken once daily at bedtime for 6 weeks, titrated from 500 mg/day in week 1 to 1000 mg/day in week 2 and 1500 mg/day in weeks 3-6, with 300 mg aspirin.

Key limitation

Small sample size, short 6-week niacin exposure, and a highly specific population of sedentary middle-aged men with metabolic syndrome limit generalizability.

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