Impact of Aerobic Exercises on Fatigue Related to Systemic Inflammation in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus

Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem with around 170 million people infected worldwide. Fatigue is one of the most frequent clinical symptoms in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection contributing significantly to the reduction of health-related quality of life and association between fatigue and elevation of inflammatory markers have been documented. At present, there is no widely accepted treatment for fatigue in HCV patients. The beneficial effects of aerobic exercise have been a matter of controversy in the field of hepatitis C virus patient’s management. Objective: As the available previous studies involving the impact of exercise training upon the fatigue related to systemic inflammation in HCV is limited in number; this study aims to measure the impact of aerobic exercise training on the fatigue related to systemic inflammation of HCV in Jeddah area. Methods: non-hypertensive, non-cirrhotic Saudi patients with chronic HCV infection, their age ranged from 2540 years and was assigned to two subgroups; group (A) received aerobic exercise training for 12 weeks, however group (B) received no training intervention for 3 months. Measurements of fatigue symptoms and markers of systemic inflammation were assessed before and at the end of the study for all participants of both groups. Results: The mean values of inflammatory markers interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI) was significantly decreased in group (A), while changes were not significant in group (B). Also, there were significant differences between mean levels of the investigated parameters in group (A) and group (B) after treatment. Conclusion: Treadmill walking exercise training is an effective treatment policy to improve ameliorates symptoms of fatigue related to inflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic HCV infection.