A standardized exercise intervention differentially affects pre- and post-menopausal African American women

Objective—African American women present an understudied population in menopause research, yet face greater post-menopausal challenges associated with mortality than their white peers. We investigated the effect of a mild-intensity aerobic exercise training program on markers of mortality risk in both preand post-menopausal African American women. Methods—16 preand 19 post-menopausal women underwent 6 months of mild-intensity aerobic exercise training. Measurements included markers of blood lipid and glucose profile, inflammation, kidney function, vascular health and aerobic fitness before and after the exercise intervention. Contact: Jan Kretzschmar, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 W Taylor St, Rm 615, Chicago, IL 60612, Phone: 312-996-3215, Fax: 312-413-0319, [email protected]. Conflicts of interest: none This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Menopause. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 June 01. Published in final edited form as: Menopause. 2014 June ; 21(6): 579–584. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000133. N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript Results—Before the exercise intervention the preand post-menopausal groups only differed in terms of age, LDL, and total cholesterol levels, with the latter two being higher in the postmenopausal group. Both triglycerides and markers of early stage endothelial dysfunction (CD62E + endothelial microparticles) improved in both groups with aerobic exercise training. Aerobic fitness, glomerular filtration rate, body mass index, plasma glucose levels, and markers of late stage endothelial dysfunction (CD31+/CD42b− endothelial microparticles) only improved in the pre-menopausal group. Conclusions—Mild-intensity aerobic exercise training was successful in improving some markers of cardiovascular disease and mortality in post-menopausal women. Higher levels of exercise intensity or perhaps additional interventions may need to be considered in this population to further decrease mortality risk.