Effects of 12-week Aerobic Exercise on Arterial Stiffness, Inflammation, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Women with Systemic LUPUS Erythematosus: Non-Randomized Controlled Trial
This study assessed the effect of 12-week aerobic exercise on arterial stiffness (primary
outcome), inflammation, oxidative stress, and cardiorespiratory fitness (secondary outcomes) in
women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In a non-randomized clinical trial, 58 women with
SLE were assigned to either aerobic exercise (n = 26) or usual care (n = 32). The intervention comprised
12 weeks of aerobic exercise (2 sessions X 75 min/week) between 40–75% of the individual’s heart
rate reserve. At baseline and at week 12, arterial stiffness was assessed through pulse wave velocity
(PWV), inflammatory (i.e., high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], tumor necrosis factor alpha
[TFN- α], and inteleukin 6 [IL-6]) and oxidative stress (i.e., myeloperoxidase [MPO]) markers were
obtained from blood samples, and cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed (Bruce test). There were no
between-group differences in the changes in arterial stiffness (median PWV difference -0.034, 95% CI
-0.42 to 0.36 m/s; p = 0.860) or hsCRP, TNF-α, IL-6, and MPO (all p > 0.05) at week 12. In comparison
to the control group, the exercise group significantly increased cardiorespiratory fitness (median
difference 2.26 minutes, 95% CI 0.98 to 3.55; p = 0.001). These results suggest that 12 weeks of
progressive treadmill aerobic exercise increases cardiorespiratory fitness without exacerbating arterial
stiffness, inflammation, or oxidative stress in women with SLE.This work was supported by Fundación para la Investigación Biosanitaria de Andalucía Oriental (grant
number: PI-0525-2016) and the Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Granada (Premios de Investigación 2017).
BG-C was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU15/00002)