This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Yoga decreases anti-inflammatory adipokine in metabolic syndrome, high BP
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients with metabolic syndrome and high-normal BP who participated in 1 year of yoga training had increased anti-inflammatory adipokine and decreased proinflammatory adipokines compared with nonparticipants, according to a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
“These findings help to reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underpins the importance of regular exercise to human health,” Parco Siu, BSc, MPhil, PhD, associate professor in the division of community medicine and public health practice at The University of Hong Kong School of Public Health, said in a press release.
Rashmi Supriya, PhD, of the department of health technology and informatics at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and colleagues analyzed data from 97 participants aged 30 to 80 years from Hong Kong who had metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined as meeting three or more of the following characteristics: elevated blood glucose, central obesity, low level of HDL, elevated plasma triglycerides and elevated BP. For this analysis, all participants had high-normal BP.
Participants were randomly assigned a yoga intervention program for 1 year (n = 52; mean age, 59 years; 17 men) or no intervention (n = 45; mean age, 57 years; 17 men). Those assigned the yoga intervention attended three 1-hour yoga sessions per week for 1 year. Participants in the control group were contacted monthly regarding their health status. Both groups adhered to their usual physical activities and dietary intake.
Fasting plasma glucose, systolic and diastolic BP, HDL, waist circumference and triglycerides were measured at baseline and 1 year.
Blood samples at baseline and 1 year were analyzed for adipokines including chemerin, visfatin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), leptin and adiponectin.
Compared with the control group, participants assigned the yoga intervention had greater decreases in chemerin (–32.8 vs. 46.3; P < .001) and leptin (–6.7 vs. 1.9; P < .001) and an increase in adiponectin (1.3 vs. –1; P < .001).
Adiponectin increased by 20.1% in the yoga group vs. a decrease of 15.5% in the control group. The yoga group had a decrease in leptin of 26.5% compared with an increase of 9% in the control group. Chemerin decreased by 14.3% in the yoga group vs. 21% in the control group.
There was no significant interaction between time and intervention for systolic or diastolic BP, HDL, triglycerides, fasting glucose and waist circumference, according to the researchers.
“The precise underlying mechanisms that explain how yoga practice causes the observed alterations of circulatory adipokines are unclear, and this topic warrants additional research to fully understand the relationship between yoga exercise training and the adipokine profile,” Supriya and colleagues wrote. “Provided that [metabolic syndrome] is a condition that is characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation, it is rational that an equilibrium between the anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory microenvironments plays a critical role in preventing the development of [metabolic syndrome].” – by Darlene Dobkowski
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts