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Simple advice on lifestyle habits and long-term changes in biomarkers of inflammation and vascular adhesion in healthy middle-aged men

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 64, pages 1450–1456 (2010)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Lifestyle habits, vascular function and inflammation are components in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated whether simple advice on dietary and exercise habits given (at a single time point) to hypercholesterolemic men affects circulating biomarkers of inflammation and vascular adhesion.

Subjects/Methods:

In total, 157 men (age 46±5 years) with mild hypercholesterolemia were randomized to four intervention groups, diet (D, n=40), exercise (E, n=39), diet and exercise (DE, n=39) or controls (C, n=39) and serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1) and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) were quantified at baseline and after a 6-month intervention period.

Results:

The intervention applied in this study, that is, simple advice on lifestyle changes given at a single time point, had a modest effect on inflammatory biomarkers and soluble vascular adhesion molecules. The most apparent alterations were found for individuals in group DE, who responded with significant reductions in sICAM-1, −28 (−41 to −14 μg/l) and sE-selectin, −3.6 (−6.9 to −0.3 μg/l) after 6 months. None of the groups had altered their concentrations of sVCAM-1, CRP or IL-6 significantly after the intervention. In all individuals combined, we found changes in apolipoprotein B (apoB) to predict alterations in sICAM-1 (β=0.21) and sE-selectin (β=0.26), independently of changes in inflammation and other adhesion molecules.

Conclusions:

These observations indicate that even small efforts to improve diet and physical activity can influence biomarkers of vascular function in individuals at increased risk for CVD. ApoB was identified as an important determinant of this improvement, which adds further support to the notion of apoB as a critical target in cardiovascular prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    P Sjögren & T Cederholm

  2. Department of Rheumatology, Stockholm, Sweden

    M Heimbürger

  3. Division of Renal Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden

    P Stenvinkel

  4. Center for Inflammation and Haematology Research, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden

    I Vedin & J Palmblad

  5. Department of Medicine (Solna), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    M-L Hellenius

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  1. P Sjögren
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  2. T Cederholm
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  3. M Heimbürger
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  4. P Stenvinkel
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  5. I Vedin
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  6. J Palmblad
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  7. M-L Hellenius
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Correspondence to P Sjögren.

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Contributors: PSj performed and interpreted statistical analyses, and drafted the article; TC contributed to the design, statistical analyses, interpretation of the data and drafting of the article, MH took part of the laboratory analyses and interpretation of the data, PSt contributed to the interpretation of the data, IV did the laboratory analyses and took part of drafting the article, JP contributed to the design, was responsible for the laboratory analyses, took part of the drafting and critically reviewed the article, MLH was responsible for the study design, data collection, statistical analyses, data interpretation and drafting of the article.

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Sjögren, P., Cederholm, T., Heimbürger, M. et al. Simple advice on lifestyle habits and long-term changes in biomarkers of inflammation and vascular adhesion in healthy middle-aged men. Eur J Clin Nutr 64, 1450–1456 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.182

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