Effects of 6 Months of Moderate Aerobic Exercise Training on Immune Function in the Elderly

Woods, Jeffrey A.; Ceddia, M. A.; Wolters, B. W.; Lu, Qin; McAuley, Edward

doi:10.1097/00005768-199905001-01142

Cited by 31 publications

(58 citation statements)

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“…Woods et al have studied the effects of 6 months of moderate aerobic exercise on T lymphocyte and NK cell function 82 . Sedentary elderly humans (65 ± 0.8 years) were randomly assigned to a three times/week exercise intervention group ( n = 14) or a flexibility/toning control group ( n = 15).…”

Section: Exercisementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of exercise on the immune system in the elderly population

Bruunsgaard

Pedersen

2000

Immunol Cell Biol

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Immunosenescence is characterized by impaired cellular immune function concomitant with increased inflammatory activity. Immune dysfunction is associated with increased mortality risk in elderly people. An important part of human ageing is characterized by a decline in the ability of individuals to adapt to environmental stress. Exercise has been suggested as a prototype for studying the effects of stress factors on the cellular immune system. Studies of interactions between an acute bout of exercise and immune function may be a useful and an ethically acceptable tool to investigate cell trafficking, immune mobilization/deficiency and the acute phase response during physical stress situations in relation to human ageing. Elderly humans have a preserved ability to recruit T lymphocytes and NK cells in response to an acute bout of exercise. Physical exercise training programs do not result in major restoration of the senescent immune system in humans. However, highly conditioned elderly humans seem to have a relatively better preserved immune system, although it is not possible to conclude if this is linked to training or other lifestyle-related factors.

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Section: Exercisementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of exercise on the immune system in the elderly population

Bruunsgaard

Pedersen

2000

Immunol Cell Biol

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“…The majority of older adults are largely sedentary and fail to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity of 150 min of aerobic exercise per week. Regular physical activity in older adults has been associated with lower levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines such as IL‐6, TNFα (Gleeson et al., ), improved neutrophil chemotaxis (Bartlett et al., ) and NK cell cytotoxicity (Woods et al., ), increased T‐cell proliferation (Woods et al., ) and improved vaccination responses (Kohut et al., ). Thus, the current literature on immunesenescence is not able to determine which aspects of age‐related immune change are driven by extrinsic factors and which may be the consequence of a constitutive aging programme.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major features of immunesenescence, including reduced thymic output, are ameliorated by high levels of physical activity in adulthood

et al. 2018

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SummaryIt is widely accepted that aging is accompanied by remodelling of the immune system including thymic atrophy and increased frequency of senescent T cells, leading to immune compromise. However, physical activity, which influences immunity but declines dramatically with age, is not considered in this literature. We assessed immune profiles in 125 adults (55–79 years) who had maintained a high level of physical activity (cycling) for much of their adult lives, 75 age‐matched older adults and 55 young adults not involved in regular exercise. The frequency of naïve T cells and recent thymic emigrants (RTE) were both higher in cyclists compared with inactive elders, and RTE frequency in cyclists was no different to young adults. Compared with their less active counterparts, the cyclists had significantly higher serum levels of the thymoprotective cytokine IL‐7 and lower IL‐6, which promotes thymic atrophy. Cyclists also showed additional evidence of reduced immunesenescence, namely lower Th17 polarization and higher B regulatory cell frequency than inactive elders. Physical activity did not protect against all aspects of immunesenescence: CD28−ve CD57+ve senescent CD8 T‐cell frequency did not differ between cyclists and inactive elders. We conclude that many features of immunesenescence may be driven by reduced physical activity with age.

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“…The potential use of a behavioral intervention as an independent means of augmenting virus‐specific immunity in older adults, and of complementing vaccine‐induced immune responses, has received recent attention 14–21 . However, as previously reported, 22 many such intervention studies have suffered from methodological limitations, including small sample size, lack of randomized design, poor standardization of training and implementation, and enrollment of healthy younger participants rather than persons at risk for decreased immune responses.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese martial art, incorporates aerobic activity, relaxation, and meditation, all of which are reported to boost CMI responses 14–21 . In addition, Tai Chi is a particularly attractive intervention for use in older people, who often have age‐related limitations in their ability to tolerate even moderate‐intensity exercise 23 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%