(25-11-05) Regular exercise may help suppress inflammation in healthy adults

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exercise training markedly lowers plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in healthy sedentary adults with high levels of this inflammatory marker.

"The possible inflammation suppressing effect of exercise training may partly explain the effectiveness of regular physical activity in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," researchers from Finland and the US note in the October issue of the European Heart Journal.
Dr. Timo A. Lakka from the University of Kuopio and colleagues had 652 healthy white and black men and women who had not participated in regular physical activity over the prior 6 months take part in a 20-week standardized exercise-training program. They trained three times per week at a level of 75% of baseline VO2-max.
At baseline, 265 subjects had low CRP levels (< 1.0 mg/L); 225 had moderate CRP levels (1.0 to 3.0 mg/L); and 162 had high CRP levels (> 3.0 mg/L).
The principal finding in this study, the authors say, is that plasma CRP fell by about 1.3 mg/L (or 24%) in response to 20 weeks of regular exercise in individuals with high baseline CRP levels. The reduction in CRP was consistent across all population groups and varied between 1.2 and 2.2 mg/L.
"This observation is potentially important from a public health and clinical point of view," the authors note. Individuals with high CRP levels make up about one-fourth of the adult population and have a markedly increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, they explain.
"A CRP reduction of 1-2 mg/L can significantly decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in individuals who have high CRP levels," Dr. Lakka and colleagues write.
In this study, CRP levels did not change in response to exercise in individuals with low or moderate baseline CRP levels.
In a related commentary, Dr. Joep Perk from Kalmar County Public Health Centre in Oskarshamn, Sweden suggests that for individuals at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, elevated CRP "may become a prognostic tool for cardiologists and general practitioners: it may identify those for whom exercise training will be effective."

Source : Eur Heart J 2005;26:1939-1941,2018-2025.

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