Plasma lipid and lipoprotein profile in elderly female runners.
Plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles were compared in elderly female runners (RU: n = 15, aged 66 +/- 5 years, body fat 20 +/- 4%, training distance 35 +/- 15 km week-1, VO2max 36 +/- 4 ml kg-1 min-1, mean +/- SD) and age-matched untrained women (UT: n = 28, 66 +/- 4 years, body fat 26 +/- 6%, VO2max 26 +/- 3 ml kg-1 min-1). There were insignificant differences in total cholesterol (RU: 5.04 +/- 0.60 vs. UT: 5.48 +/- 0.85 mmol l-1), HDL-cholesterol (RU: 1.97 +/- 0.41 vs. UT: 1.91 +/- 0.36 mmol l-1) and LDL-cholesterol (RU: 2.72 +/- 0.59 vs. UT: 3.03 +/- 0.80 mmol l-1) between the two groups. Plasma triglyceride concentration of the runners was significantly lower than that of the untrained women (RU: 0.80 +/- 0.27 vs UT: 1.14 +/- 0.36 mmol l-1, P less than 0.01). No difference was observed in the LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio between the two groups (RU: 1.45 +/- 0.51 vs UT: 1.64 +/- 0.53 units). These results suggest that regularly performed running of 35 km week-1 in elderly women does not further elevate their HDL-cholesterol level which is already high compared to the levels found in elderly men. However, elderly female runners appear to be protected against age-related increases in the levels of triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol.
Higuchi
M
M
Division of Health Promotion, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan.
Oishi
K
K
Ishii
K
K
Iwaoka
K
K
Matsuo
S
S
Kobayashi
S
S
Tamai
T
T
Takai
H
H
Nakai
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012420:Running; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D008074:Lipoproteins; D014280:Triglycerides; D004958:Estradiol