The Effects of a Six-Week Aerobic Exercise on Serum Levels of Klotho, IL-10, IL-1, and Oxidative Stress in Sedentary Young Women

Insufficient physical activity is considered one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the effects of six weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on serum levels of Klotho, interleukin 10 (IL-10), IL-1, and oxidative stress in young women with a sedentary lifestyle.

The present study was a semi-experimental study with a control group. Out of all volunteers, 20 young women eligible to participate in the study were selected and divided into the two groups (n=10) of experimental (i.e., six weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise) and control (i.e., no exercise). Members of the experimental group performed an aerobic exercise program including running on a treadmill with an intensity of 55%-70% of their maximum heart rates (220-age). The running plan started with 50% of their maximum heart rates and reached 70% at the end of the six-week exercise program (three sessions per week). Paired t-test and independent t-test were conducted to examine intra-group and inter-group differences. All statistical procedures were performed using the SPSS version26 statistical package (P ≤ 0.05).

At the beginning of the study, no significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of the markers. Six-week aerobic training increased Klotho (mean: 540, lower: 141.5, upper: 938.4) and IL-10 (mean: 0.43, lower: -1.56 upper: -0.47) in experimental group in comparison to control group (P = 0.001). Six-week aerobic training decreased IL-1 (mean: 0.78, lower: -1.16 upper: -0.39) and H2O2 (mean: 0.41, lower: -0.96, upper: 0.12) in experimental group in comparison to control group (P = 0.001).

In sum, six-week moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program increased Klotho and IL-10 levels and decreased IL-1 and oxidative stress levels in young women with a sedentary lifestyle. According to these results, the decrease in oxidative stress and IL-1 levels due to exercise caused an increase in Klotho, and an increase in Klotho level, in turn, increased IL-10.