Different Types of Physical Activity on Inflammatory Biomarkers in Women With or Without Metabolic Disorders: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Overwhelming data support the relationship between physical inactivity and inflammatory processes underlying metabolic disorders. The aim of this review was to assess critically the body of evidence for the relationships between exercise protocols and levels of inflammatory biomarkers in women. Systematic literature searches using PubMed Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, LILACS, and SciELO of publications from 1993 to January 2012 were conducted using the following keywords: inflammation, cytokine, exercise, physical training, aerobic training, cardiovascular training, strength training, resistance training, interval training, cardiac rehabilitation, and therapeutic lifestyle modification/management. Three studies reported no significant changes in inflammatory status, one documented an increase in inflammatory biomarkers, and 12 articles reported decreased inflammatory biomarkers associated with exercise. Secondary lifestyle characteristics, such as strenuous physical labor or smoking, were correlated with levels of inflammatory biomarkers. Integrative interventions, including diet, moderate aerobic (60% to 80% of maximum heart rate, or 50% to 60% of VO2max) and circuit resistance training (8 to 10 exercises, 8 to 12 repetitions), health education, and counseling, used together, appeared to be effective strategies to improve inflammatory biomarkers in women.

The Effect of a Community-Based, Primary Health Care Exercise Program on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Hormone Levels

“…Thus, the effects of regular physical activity on basal levels of inflammatory markers have been used to recommend exercise as an anti-inflammatory therapy. According to Soares and de Souza [14] integrative interventions, including diet, moderate aerobic exercise (60% to 80% of HRmax or 50% to 60% of VO 2max⁡ ) and circuit resistance training (8 to 10 exercises, 8 to 12 repetitions), health education, and counseling, used together, appeared to be effective strategies to improve inflammatory biomarkers in women.…”

“…It has long been known that regular physical activity induces multiple adaptations within skeletal muscles and the cardiorespiratory system, providing positive outcomes for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases [7, 8]. Some studies have indicated that regular physical activity has anti-inflammatory effects and is associated with improvement in inflammatory biomarkers such as a reduction in levels of the proinflammatory cytokines [9–14]. According to Pedersen [8], the anti-inflammatory processes provided by physical exercise play important roles in the protection against diseases associated with low-grade inflammation such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.…”

Women, the menopause, hormone replacement therapy and coronary heart disease

“…It was stated by Krintus et al [41] that the complex multifactorial cause of CHD goes beyond inflammatory risk factors to include factors such as electrocardiogram results, lipid profile, renal function, and imaging and clinical parameters. Favourable modification of inflammatory risk factors is of major interest, and Soares and de Sousa [42] reviewed 15 selected articles with women as the protagonists and found that 12 of 15 articles showed decreased inflammatory biomarkers in association with exercise. Inflammatory risk status was the major factor in the Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER) trial.…”

Microglial modulation as a mechanism behind the promotion of central nervous system well‐being by physical exercise

“…A systemic review investigating the efficacy of different types of exercise interventions on inflammatory biomarkers in females with metabolic disorders showed that aerobic training and integrated therapeutic lifestyle management – which encompasses both regimented exercise routines and alterations to negative lifestyle practices, such as smoking and poor diet – provided the greatest positive gains compared with resistance training or acute aerobic exercise, which possessed minimal efficacy or were deleterious, respectively . Furthermore, they reported that the maximal benefit was achieved when participants engaged in moderate intensity (60–80% of maximal heart rate) and moderate duration exercise (45–80 min, two or three times weekly).…”