Different intensity circuit resistance training effect on the plasma level of theinflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α in postmenopausal women

Introduction: obesity related inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of insulinresistance and type 2 diabetes. in contrast, exercise training can decrease insulin resistance bymodulating inflammation. the aim of present study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks differentintensity circuit resistance training on the levels of the inflammatory mediators, il-6 and tnf-α inobese postmenopausal women.materials and methods: in the study, 44 postmenopausal women with average age of 56.07 ± 3.18years old were selected and randomly assigned in four group including the control, low (l-rt),moderate (m-rt) and high intensity circuit resistance training (h-rt) groups. circuit resistancetraining for l-rt, m-rt and h-rt groups, respectively, was conducted with 40, 60 and 80 percent ofone repetition maximum. blood sampling prepared in the pre and post-test stages and the plasma levelsof tnf-α and il-6 were measured by an immunoassay method.results: there was no significant difference between the groups under study for tnf-α levels (p =0.097), but inter group difference indicated that a significant decrease in the level of tnf-α in h-rtgroup (p = 0.004). the il-6 levels showed a significant between-groups difference (p = 0.013) and alsoa significant decrease in the levels of il-6 in h-rt group compared to l-rt group were observed (p =0.049). moreover, inter group analysis indicated significant decrease in the level of il-6 only in h-rtgroup (p = 0.002).conclusion: it seems that, the highest intensity circuit resistance training is more effective indownregulation of inflammatory mediators, and, in turn, the modulation of inflammation is associatedwith the decreased insulin resistance.