Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the responses of selected inflammatory cytokines to isometric handgrip exercise and identify possible effects of intensity and duration of the isometric effort on these variables. METHODS: A total of 192 sedentary prehypertensive Nigerian participants aged between 30 and 50 years were recruited into the study and randomly distributed into 3 groups of 64 participants each. The participants performed 24 consecutive days of isometric handgrip exercise at 30% maximum voluntary contraction. At the end of the 24 days, group 1 discontinued the exercise protocol, while group 2 continued the exercise protocol for another 24 consecutive days, and group 3 continued with the exercise protocol for another 24 consecutive days but at 50% maximum voluntary contraction. The parameters used to assess the inflammatory cytokine variables included interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). RESULTS: There was an increase in the resting values of IL-10 across the 3 groups, while the resting values of IL-6 and TNF-α were reduced significantly across groups. Generally, the exercise-induced changes in the levels of these cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10) should improve inflammatory and metabolic abnormalities. CONCLUSION: The isometric handgrip exercise protocols in this study resulted in elevation of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) and reductions in the values of proinflammatory cytokines TNF- α and IL-6.