The effect of eight weeks of circuit resistance training on Apo-B/A ratio and inflammatory status of sedentary postmenopausal women

Abstract Exercise can be an effective non-pharmacological method to reduce the complications of menopause. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of circuit resistance training (CRT) on the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), apolipoprotein A (Apo-A), Apo-B, and their ratio in sedentary postmenopausal women. Thirty postmenopausal women (age 54 ± 3 years, body mass index 27.6 ± 1.97 kg/m 2 ) without any serious diseases and no hormone therapy volunteered to participate in the research. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: circuit resistance training (n = 15, CRT) and Control (n = 15) groups. Resistance training was performed for 8 weeks, 3 days a week, including 12 stations for the whole body in 3 sets and 8-12 repetitions. The exercises started at 40% of one repetition maximum (1RM) and gradually reached 75% of 1RM in the last week. Blood samples were taken before and 48 hours after the end of both interventions to measure CRP, ICAM-1, Apo-A-I, and Apo-B. To analyse the data, a two-way analysis of variance test was used. The CRT intervention by reducing Apo-B (−8.9% vs −0.1%; change percentage relative to pre-to-post values in each group) and increasing Apo-A1 (+4.7% vs −0.1%) led to a significant increase in the Apo-B/A ratio (−13.0% vs −0.08%) compared to the Control group. In addition, a substantial decrease in the inflammatory levels of CRP (−21.0% vs +6.3%) and ICAM-1 (−22.7% vs +1.6%) was observed after 8 weeks of CRT compared to the Control group. The observed changes were consistent with a reduction in body mass and an improvement in the waist-hip ratio (WHR). The findings indicated that CRT could reduce the complications of menopause by reducing inflammatory markers and improving the lipid profile.