The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Homocysteine, C- Reactive Protein and Lipid Profile in Active and Inactive Men

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Mehrdad Fathi ¹
• Elham Pouryamehr ²

¹ Department of Sport Physiology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Department of Sport Physiology, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: A number of studies have reported that regular aerobic exercises can improve cardiovascular biomarkers such as homocysteine, C- reactive protein and lipid profile. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 4 weeks of aerobic exercise on homocysteine, C- reactive protein and lipid profile in active and inactive men. Methods: in this quasi-experimental study, 26 active (n = 13) and inactive (n = 13) students aged (18- 23) years old participated voluntarily. All subject performed aerobic exercises for 4 weeks, 3 sessions per week and 60 minutes with intensity of 60- 75 % of maximum heart rate reserve per session. Blood sample was taken in the pretest and 24 hours after the last aerobic exercise session in the post- test. Independent sample t- test and paired sample t- test were used to analyze the data (p≤0.05). Results: Serum levels of homocysteine (P = 0.001) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.003) significantly decreased in the active group compared to the inactive group. However, there were no significant difference in the changes of C-reactive protein (P = 0.12), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.56), triglyceride (P = 0.24), total cholesterol (P = 0.21), total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein (P = 0.52) and triglyceride to high density lipoprotein (P = 0.26), between active and inactive group. Conclusion: It appears that serum levels of homocysteine reduced further after four weeks of exercise in active subjects in comparison with inactive subjects. However, the improvement in the serum levels of C-reactive protein and lipid profiles after four weeks of exercise training were the same in both active and inactive individuals.

Keywords

• Exercise
• C- Reactive Protein
• Homocysteine
• Lipid Profile

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