Acute and Recovery Changes of TNFα and IL1β in Response to Aerobic Exercise in Smokers and Nonsmokers

Introduction: Recent evidence has shown that acute exercise affects the immune response in healthy individuals. However, the effect of aerobic exercise on inflammatory markers in smokers has not been well studied. This study evaluated acute and recovery responses of inflammatory cytokines to moderate aerobic exercise in male smokers. Methods: For this purpose, 15 sedentary male smokers and 15 male nonsmokers matched for age and body mass index (BMI) performed aerobic exercise involving 40minute running at 70% of maximum heart rate (HRmax). Blood samples were obtained preexercise (baseline), immediately post exercise (zero), as well as 60 minutes and 24 hours after exercise for analysis of interleukin1 beta (IL1β) and tumor necrosis factoralpha (TNFα) levels. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 and oneway analysis variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. Results: No differences were observed for baseline IL1β between smokers and nonsmokers. However, serum TNFα level was significantly higher in smokers (75.1 ± 14.3) than in nonsmokers (37.2 ± 9.11) at baseline (P=0.01). Aerobic exercise significantly reduced TNFα level immediately after exercise (58.9 ± 11.6), and at 60 minutes (50.1 ± 14.8), and 24 hours (53.44 ± 12.3) post exercise in comparison with baseline (P=0.02) in smokers. TNFα levels remained significantly higher in smokers compared to nonsmokers immediately, 60 minutes, and 24 hours post exercise. IL1β levels revealed no significant differences between smokers and nonsmokers at baseline, immediately, 60 minutes, and 24 hours post exercise. Furthermore, exercise did not significantly affect acute or recovery changes of TNFα and IL1β in nonsmokers. Conclusion: In conclusion, based on acute and recovery responses of serum TNFα to exercise, it seems that a moderate aerobic exercise may reveal beneficial effects on inflammatory profile in smokers.