179. Getting fit or losing weight… which way to reduce inflammation?

Abstract

It is still debated whether an increase in cardiovascular fitness or a decrease in weight can more potently balance inflammatory states reflected in levels of specific marker molecules in the peripheral circulation. Here we examine various protein levels, including IL-6 (interleukin-6), CRP (C-reactive protein), TNF- α (Tumor Necrosis Factor- α ), sP-Selectin, sE-Selectin, sICAM-1 (soluble Intercellular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1) and sVCAM-1 (soluble Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1), all used as predictive biomarkers of inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular events, and how they are related to cardiovascular fitness and BMI (Body Mass Index) in 86 prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals (mean age 44 years; SD = 9.6). Cardiovascular fitness was determined by peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) during a treadmill exercise. Plasma biomarker levels were determined by commercial ELISA. A series of linear regression analyses aimed at predicting biomarker levels included independent variables age, gender, VO2peak and BMI. The analyses showed that fitness rather than BMI is a powerful predictor of IL-6 ( p = 0.008) but instead BMI is influencing sVCAM-1 levels ( p = 0.034). All other tested biomarkers did not show a relationship to BMI or fitness. These results suggest that a combined approach with decreasing body mass as well as improving an individual’s fitness level might be most efficient in reducing selective aspects of the inflammatory profile of elevated blood pressure, and consequently reducing risk of cardiovascular events.