Effects of acute total body resistance exercise on hormonal and cytokines changes in men and women.

AIM: Sex differences in exercise responses have implications for understanding sex-specific adaptations to exercise for performance and health. The purpose of this study was to verify the acute effects of a full body resistance exercise protocol on growth hormone (GH), testosterone (TT), cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 in men and women. METHODS: Fourteen healthy volunteers (7 men and 7 women taking oral contraceptives) active and recreationally trained in resistance exercise were subjected to a resistance exercise session (3x8-10 RM) composed of 10 exercises with rests periods of 90-120 seconds between sets. GH, TT, cortisol, IL-6 and IL-10 were assessed at pre-, immediate post- (IP) and 30 min postprotocol. RESULTS: Both men and women had a similar increase in GH (P<0.05) at IP in response to exercise. Significant effects of interaction between sex and time were observed for TT, cortisol and IL-6. In the men, an increase from pre was noted at IP and 30 min for TT, cortisol and IL-6. In the women there was no change in TT, cortisol and IL-6 concentration. There was no change in IL-10. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate a difference between men and women taking oral contraceptives in TT, cortisol and IL-6 responsiveness to the same full body resistance exercise protocol.

Metabolic syndrome and its associated risk factors in Brazilian postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its associated risk factors in Brazilian postmenopausal women. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 368 postmenopausal women, aged 40-- 75 years, seeking health care at a public outpatient center in Southeastern Brazil, were included. According to the US National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) guidelines, MetS was diagnosed in subjects with three or more of the following: waist circumference > or =88 cm, blood pressure > or =130/85 mmHg, triglycerides > or =150 mg/dl, high density lipoprotein cholesterol <50 mg/dl and glucose > or =110 mg/dl. Data on past medical history, tobacco use, anthropometric indicators, and values of C-reactive protein (CRP) were collected. Multivariate analysis, using a logistic regression model (odds ratio, OR) was used to evaluate the influence of various simultaneous MetS risk factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of having at least three, four and five MetS diagnostic criteria were met in 39.6%, 16.8% and 3.8% of the cases, respectively. The most prevalent risk factor was abdominal obesity, affecting 62.5% of women. The risk of MetS increased with a personal history of diabetes (OR 5.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.82-12.54), hypertension (OR 4.52, 95% CI 2.89-7.08), cardiovascular disease (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.18-3.94) and high CRP (>1 mg/dl) (OR 3.35, 95% CI 1.65-6.79). Plasma CRP levels increased with the number of MetS components present. Age, time since menopause and smoking had no influence, while hormone therapy reduced MetS risk (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42-0.97). CONCLUSION: Metabolic syndrome was highly prevalent among Brazilian postmenopausal women seeking gynecologic health care. Abdominal obesity, diabetes, hypertension and high CRP were strong MetS predictors and hormone therapy appeared to play a protective role for this condition.