Exercise reduced inflammation: but for how long after training?

Background Previous studies have reported that obese people with trisomy 21 suffer from low-grade systemic inflammation. A recent study has found that aerobic training reduced inflammation in obese women with Down syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, the study reported in this paper is the first to determine for how long these effects were maintained after completion of the programme. Methods Twenty premenopausal obese women (18–30 years old) with Down syndrome volunteered for this study. Eleven were randomly assigned to the intervention group and performed a 10-week aerobic training programme, 3 sessions per week, consisting of warming-up followed by treadmill exercise (30–40 min) at a work intensity of 55–65% of peak heart rate and a cooling-down period. The control group included 9, age, sex and BMI matched women with Down syndrome that did not perform any training programme. Fat mass percentage and distribution were measured. Plasma level of IL-6 and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were monitored. Time-course changes for these outcomes were assessed at pre- and post-intervention. Further, they were re-evaluated at 1, 3 and 6 months after completion of the programme. Results Three months after completion of the programme, plasma levels of IL-6 and hs-CRP were significantly increased. Up to 6 months later, both fat mass percentage and waist circumference (WC) were significantly increased. Furthermore, physical fitness was also impaired in the intervention group. No changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion A 3-month detraining period significantly impaired chronic inflammation in obese women with DS.