The Effects of Acute Exercise and Exercise Training on Plasma Homocysteine: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough studies have demonstrated that physical exercise alters homocysteine levels in the blood, meta-analyses of the effects of acute exercise and exercise training on homocysteine blood concentration have not been performed, especially regarding the duration and intensity of exercise, which could affect homocysteine levels differently.ObjectiveThe aim of this meta-analysis was to ascertain the effects of acute exercise and exercise training on homocysteine levels in the blood.MethodA review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses using the online databases PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and SciELO to identify relevant studies published through June 2015. Review Manager was used to calculate the effect size of acute exercise and exercise training using the change in Hcy plasmaserum concentration from baseline to post-acute exercise and trained vs. sedentary control groups, respectively. Weighted mean differences were calculated using random effect models.ResultsGiven the abundance of studies, acute exercise trials were divided into two subgroups according to exercise volume and intensity, whereas the effects of exercise training were analyzed together. Overall, 22 studies with a total of 520 participants indicated increased plasma homocysteine concentration after acute exercise (1.18 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.71 to 1.65, p < .01). Results of a subgroup analysis indicated that either long-term exercise of low-to-moderate intensity (1.39 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.9 to 1.89, p < .01) or short-term exercise of high intensity (0.83 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.19 to 1.40, p < .01) elevated homocysteine levels in the blood. Increased homocysteine induced by exercise was significantly associated with volume of exercise, but not intensity. By contrast, resistance training reduced plasma homocysteine concentration (-1.53 μmol/L, 95% CI: -2.77 to -0.28, p = .02), though aerobic training did not. The cumulative results of the seven studies with a total of 230 participants in exercise training analysis did not demonstrate a significant impact on homocysteine levels in the blood (-0.56 μmol/L, 95% CI: -1.61 to 0.50, p = .23).ConclusionsCurrent evidence demonstrates that acute exercise increases homocysteine levels in the blood independent of exercise duration and intensity. Resistance, but not aerobic training decreases plasma homocysteine levels.

Role of Genetic Background in Cardiovascular Risk Markers Changes in Water Polo Players

“…The increase of Hcy levels after competition was somehow expected given the abundance of studies reporting the effects of exercise volume and intensity on plasma Hcy levels [10,21]. Konig and colleagues [21] showed that exercise-induced increase in the Hcy levels was dependent on baseline levels of training volume.…”

“…Several studies showed a higher incidence of HHcy in elite athletes compared with sedentary subjects, likely due to an increased consumption of SAM required for creatine synthesis during strenuous exercise, and creatine phosphate, as well as increased protein turnover [3,10,26]. Hcy increases in elite athletes may represent a relevant health issue, given the reported key role for HHcy as a contributor to early and advanced stages of CVD [6,15].…”

“…Konig and colleagues [21] showed that exercise-induced increase in the Hcy levels was dependent on baseline levels of training volume. More recently, a meta-analysis work, examining 22 studies with a total of 520 participants, indicated that plasma Hcy concentration increased by 1.18 μmol/L after acute exercise (p < 0.01) [10]. Moreover, plasma Hcy levels were found to be increased either after long-term exercise of low-to-moderate intensity (1.39 μmol/L, p < 0.01) or short-term exercise of high intensity (0.83 μmol/L, p < 0.01).By contrast, resistance training reduced plasma Hcy levels (-1.53 μmol/L, p = 0.02), though aerobic training did not [10].…”

The Effect of Physical Activity on Blood Homocysteine Concentration

“…Another study from Iran (Alomari et al, 2016) and from China (Zhang et al, 2010;Kim et al, 2016) also demonstrated physical activity lowers the blood homocysteine concentration with vitamin supplements but in elders it lowers the homocysteine concentration without vitamin supplements. A European study suggested only trained aerobics lowers the blood homocysteine concentration (James & Earl, 2010;Deminice et al, 2016). A study (Buckner et al, 20016) demonstrated that activities Single and combined associations of accelerometer-assessed physical activity and muscle-strengthening activities associated with low concentration of homocysteine in blood.…”

Effects of natural polyphenol-rich pomegranate juice on the acute and delayed response of Homocysteine and steroidal hormones following weightlifting exercises: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

“…Therefore, weightlifting exercise, which is well known to elicit one of the highest peak power outputs and to requires high metabolic cost [38][39][40][41], was suggested to be the best exercise modality to test the efficacy of POM as an ergogenic and recovery aid supplementation during intensive exercise [10]. Maximal strength-speed exercise is also a powerful stimulus to acutely increase concentrations of circulating [T], [C] and homocysteine [Hcy] [42][43][44]. There is some evidence that antioxidant beverages rich in polyphenols can attenuate [Hcy] levels in Alzheimer disease patients [45] and modulate endocrine responses in favor of an anabolic environment in healthy [19] and diseased [46] individuals.…”