Effect of Exercise on Inflammatory Profile of Older Persons: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses

Abstract

Regular exercise decreases IL-6 and CRP levels in older persons. The effect of exercise on TNF-α remains unclear.

A Path Toward Precision Medicine for Neuroinflammatory Mechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease

“…Large cohort studies indicate that higher levels of physical activity are inversely associated with inflammatory biomarkers, for instance CRP (264,265). There is meta-analytical evidence that regular physical exercise can reduce inflammation-related biomarkers (e.g., CRP, TNF-α) in middle-aged and older adults (266,267), these benefits being also present in individuals with cognitive impairment (268). Animal research indicates that the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise can also reach the brain tissue.…”

The impact of high‐intensity interval training on inflammatory markers in metabolic disorders: A meta‐analysis

“…23 However, the results of previous systematic reviews on inflammatory markers are inconsistent, because of the diversity of exercise training types involved (ie, aerobic, resistance, and combined training) and metabolic health of subjects (ie, elderly, T2D, and breast cancer). 28,45,[75][76][77] Possible mechanisms underlying the effect of HIIT on reducing TNF-α include reductions in body and fat mass, particularly visceral adipose tissue which is a primary site of TNF-α secretion. 78 This proposal was supported by a recent meta-analysis showing~one-third greater reduction in total fat mass with HIIT compared with MICT.…”

Biohumoral Indicators Influenced by Physical Activity in the Elderly

“…Research studies have evidenced that the association between higher levels of PA and lower CV disease rates can be explained in large part by the reduction of known risk factors, with inflammatory/hemostatic biomarkers making the largest contribution to lowered risk, followed by a positive effect on blood pressure, lipids, and body mass index [42]. Furthermore, it is also a verified hypothesis that PA is able to modify the inflammatory status of elderly subjects by decreasing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α [13,14]. Several studies have investigated the effect of exercise on inflammatory factors; it has been evidenced that acute bouts of exercise result in a transient, mostly pro-inflammatory effect, which is proportional to the amount of exercise and to the entity of muscle injury [43,44].…”

“…Nevertheless, the effect of different type and intensity of exercise on these pathways has not been fully clarified yet. Monteiro-Junior et al performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on studies investigating the effect of chronic exercise on interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive Protein (CRP) in a population of ≥60 elderly persons (8 articles were analyzed after screening and application of inclusion/exclusion criteria) [13]. IL-6 and CRP but not TNF-α significantly decreased after the exercise intervention (overall effect p < 0.05).…”