Relationship between physical activity and markers of oxidative stress in independent community-living elderly individuals

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between objective data of physical activity and markers of oxidative stress in older men and women.

Participants were old adults, aged ≥ 60 years (61 women and 34 men) who were all capable of performing basic daily activities by themselves and lived on their own. To describe physical activity we used objective data measured by accelerometers which record active and sedentary periods during everyday life for five days.

Determination of oxidative stress was conducted from three perspectives: determination plasma total antioxidant status (TAS), plasma antioxidant enzyme activities, i.e., glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and membrane lipid peroxidation (TBARS).

In the group of women, those who met physical activity recommendations (WR) had lower level of TAS. In addition, the moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was negatively correlated with TAS. Simultaneously, MVPA was correlated with increase in the GPx antioxidant enzyme activity, and the counts per minute were positively correlated with CAT activity.

In the group of men, the cpm and the MVPA were negatively correlated with lipid peroxidation while lifestyle physical activity was positively correlated with CAT activity.

These findings suggest that MVPA in the elderly although it is related to a decrease in the TAS in women, induces adaptive increase in antioxidant enzyme activity and decreases lipid peroxidation in both women and men.

These results suggest that at this time of life, it is not only the amount of physical activity performed that is important but also its intensity.