Abstract
BackgroundElevated total white blood cell (WBC) count is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and death. Aerobic exercise is associated with lower total WBC, neutrophil, and monocyte counts. However, no studies have evaluated the effect of the amount of aerobic exercise (dose) on total WBC and WBC subfraction counts.PurposeTo examine the effects of 3 different doses of aerobic exercise on changes in total WBC and WBC subfraction counts and independent effects of changes in fitness, adiposity, markers of inflammation (IL-6, TNF-α, C-reactive protein), fasting glucose metabolism, and adiponectin.MethodsData from 390 sedentary, overweight/obese postmenopausal women from the DREW study were used in these analyses. Women were randomized to a non-exercise control group or one of 3 exercise groups: energy expenditure of 4, 8, or 12 kcal kg−1⋅week−1 (KKW) for 6 months at an intensity of 50% VO2peak.ResultsA dose-dependent decrease in total WBC counts (trend P = 0.002) was observed with a significant decrease in the 12KKW group (−163.1±140.0 cells/µL; mean±95%CI) compared with the control (138.6±144.7 cells/µL). A similar response was seen in the neutrophil subfraction (trend P = 0.001) with a significant decrease in the 12KKW group (−152.6±115.1 cells/µL) compared with both the control and 4KKW groups (96.4±119.0 and 21.9±95.3 cells/µL, respectively) and in the 8KKW group (−102.4±125.0 cells/µL) compared with the control. When divided into high/low baseline WBC categories (median split), a dose-dependent decrease in both total WBCs (P = 0.003) and neutrophils (P<0.001) was observed in women with high baseline WBC counts. The effects of exercise dose on total WBC and neutrophil counts persisted after accounting for significant independent effects of change in waist circumference and IL-6.ConclusionAerobic exercise training reduces total WBC and neutrophil counts, in a dose-dependent manner, in overweight/obese postmenopausal women and is especially beneficial for those with systemic low grade inflammation.Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT00011193
Highlights
Elevated total white blood cell (WBC) count is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and death
Total WBC count is associated with insulin sensitivity such that an increase in total WBC count is indicative of an increased risk of future type 2 diabetes mellitus [9,10]
The outliers were distributed across all groups (n = 3, 5, 8, and 3 for the Control, 4, 8, and 12 kcal kg21?week21 (KKW) groups, respectively) and similar results were observed when all participants with complete WBC data were included in the analysis
Summary
Elevated total white blood cell (WBC) count is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and death. Aerobic exercise is associated with lower total WBC, neutrophil, and monocyte counts. No studies have evaluated the effect of the amount of aerobic exercise (dose) on total WBC and WBC subfraction counts. Purpose: To examine the effects of 3 different doses of aerobic exercise on changes in total WBC and WBC subfraction counts and independent effects of changes in fitness, adiposity, markers of inflammation (IL-6, TNF-a, C-reactive protein), fasting glucose metabolism, and adiponectin
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