RESEARCH on more than 4,000 middle-aged Britons finds that staying physically active into the senior years is linked to lower markers of inflammation, which is important for protecting the heart. The researchers say even moderate intensity exercise like housework, gardening and brisk walking can make a difference.The researchers report their work in a paper published online on Monday in the journal Circulation.Lead author Mark Hamer, an associate professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London (UCL), told the press: 'These leisure-time activities represent moderate intensity exercise that is important to health.'It is especially important for older people to be physically active, because it contributes to successful aging,' he added.In their introduction, Hamer and colleagues said while a number of studies showed physical activity protected the heart and cardiovascular system by influencing how the body dealt with inflammation, there wasn't enough evidence to confirm whether this might be true of the longer term.So they looked at what happened to the link between inflammation and exercise in a very large group over ten years.For their study, they examined data on 4,289 people of average age 49 from the Whitehall II study, which started in 1985 with more than 10,000 participating British civil servants to look the effects of lifestyle and occupation on heart health.The participants had regularly filled in questionnaires that asked them about their lifestyle, including any physical activity, ranging from vigorous intensity such as demanding sports and workouts, to leisure and home pursuits such as brisk walking, cycling, gardening, housework and home maintenance.They also gave blood samples, from which the researchers were able to assess levels of two important markers of inflammation: C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).The researchers set the baseline of their study at 1991, with a follow up of 11 years later, in 2002. Questionnaire responses and blood samples provided measures of physical activity and inflammatory markers at both these points.The results showed that 49 per cent of the participants met the guideline amount of exercise recommended for heart health (a minimum of 2.5 hours per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity) throughout the study period.Participants who were physically active at baseline also had lower levels of the inflammatory markers. This difference remained stable over time.Compared to participants who rarely met the guideline level of recommended physical activity, the ones who consistently met it showed lower levels of both inflammatory markers at follow up (after adjusting for other potential influencing factors).Compared to participants who did not change their activity level over the study period, those who increased it, had lower levels of both inflammatory markers at follow up.Hamer said: 'Inflammatory markers are important, because we have shown they are a key mechanism explaining the link between physical activity and the lower risk of heart disease.
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