The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Homocysteine, C- Reactive Protein and Lipid Profile in Active and Inactive Men

Introduction: A number of studies have reported that regular aerobic exercises can improve cardiovascular biomarkers such as homocysteine, C reactive protein and lipid profile. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 4 weeks of aerobic exercise on homocysteine, C reactive protein and lipid profile in active and inactive men. Methods: in this quasiexperimental study, 26 active (n = 13) and inactive (n = 13) students aged (18 23) years old participated voluntarily. All subject performed aerobic exercises for 4 weeks, 3 sessions per week and 60 minutes with intensity of 60 75 % of maximum heart rate reserve per session. Blood sample was taken in the pretest and 24 hours after the last aerobic exercise session in the post test. Independent sample t test and paired sample t test were used to analyze the data (p≤0.05). Results: Serum levels of homocysteine (P = 0.001) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.003) significantly decreased in the active group compared to the inactive group. However, there were no significant difference in the changes of Creactive protein (P = 0.12), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.56), triglyceride (P = 0.24), total cholesterol (P = 0.21), total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein (P = 0.52) and triglyceride to high density lipoprotein (P = 0.26), between active and inactive group. Conclusion: It appears that serum levels of homocysteine reduced further after four weeks of exercise in active subjects in comparison with inactive subjects. However, the improvement in the serum levels of Creactive protein and lipid profiles after four weeks of exercise training were the same in both active and inactive individuals.