The effect of eight weeks of continuous and interval training on serum TNF-ɑ, IL-6 and hs-CRP levels in female

Some cytokines are introduced as the predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of continuous and interval training on serum TNF-ɑ, IL-6 and hs-CRP levels in female basketball players. Thirty eight healthy female basketball players voluntarily participated in this study, and further they randomly divided into three groups including continuous, interval and control groups. Blood samples were collected in both pre and post-test after 12 hours of fasting. Continuous and interval training were performed 3 times per week for eight weeks. Eight weeks of continuous and interval training significantly reduced serum IL-6, TNF-ɑ and hs-CRP levels (p<0.05); while these variables had no significant effect in the control group (p>0.05). Moreover, significant difference were found for IL-6 levels between continuous and control group (p=0.005). The same result also were found for TNF-ɑ levels between interval and control groups (p=0.001) as well as also between continuous training and control group (p=0.03). The mean changes of hs-CRP showed a significant difference between interval and control group (p=0.0001) and also between interval and continuous training group (p=0.01). In this way, Interval training versus aerobic training led to further decrease in levels of IL-6 (20% vs. 13.19%), TNF-ɑ (42.12% vs 29.31%) and hs CRP (52.17% vs 21.17%), respectively. Both of continuous and interval training during eight weeks could significantly decreased inflammatory cytokines levels, moreover, interval training made the most changes in these cytokines. Therefore, continuous and interval training are recommended to prevent and control cardiovascular disease risk factors.