title: Effect of regular exercise on homocysteine concentrations: the HERITAGE Family Study.
abstract: We investigated whether regular aerobic exercise could affect plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), and whether there were sex-related or racial differences in tHcy changes. Data were available for 816 black and white men and women, aged 17-65 years, 711 of whom completed a 20 week aerobic exercise training program. The tHcy concentration was measured in frozen plasma samples by an HPLC method. In Blacks, tHcy did not change with exercise training [men -0.5 (SD 3.7) micromol/l, women 0.0 (2.2) micromol/l) but increased significantly in Whites (men +0.3 (1.7) micromol/l, women +0.2 (1.6) micromol/l). No sex-related differences were found in either racial group. Changes in tHcy correlated negatively with baseline homocysteine (r = -0.40, P < 0.0001). Homocysteine levels of the "High" (hyperhomocysteinemia) (>or=15 micromol/l) group (n = 30) decreased significantly with regular aerobic exercise from 23.1 (12.1) to 19.6 (7.6) micromol/l. Homocysteine levels of the "Normal" group increased slightly from 8.2 +/- 2.2 to 8.5 +/- 2.4 micromol/l. Men exhibit racial differences for tHcy responses to exercise training. Regular aerobic exercise has favorable effects on individuals with hyperhomocysteinemia, but tHcy slightly increased in individuals within the normal range.
authors.affiliation: Human Genomics Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okura
authors.forename: Tuomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rankinen
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gagnon
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lussier-Cacan
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davignon
authors.forename: Arthur S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.forename: Jack H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wilmore
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bouchard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D001642:Bicycling / Q000502:physiology; D044383:Black People; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005006:Ethnicity; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood; D005838:Genotype; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood; D014815:Vitamins / Q000097:blood; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D006710:Homocysteine; D005492:Folic Acid; D003404:Creatinine; D003367:Cotinine; D014805:Vitamin B 12; D010100:Oxygen