Unesp recruits men and women to evaluate the impact of exercise on menopause

Researchers from the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro (SP), will assess the impact of exercise on blood pressure of menopausal women. Although the study focused on women's health, researchers are recruiting volunteers of both sexes, aged between 40 and 65.

Candidates can not be smokers and have no diabetes. It is also desired that the body mass index (BMI) is not greater than 30. Will be accepted and also people with hypertension with blood pressure is considered normal.

Although the incidence of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases is higher among men in general, recent studies have shown that this relationship is reversed when women enter menopause, said Angelina Zanesco, the research coordinator. It is believed that the decline in the levels of the hormone estrogen during menopause is the main explanation for the phenomenon. In animals it has been demonstrated, but in humans the cause is not clear, she said.

Zanesco noted, however, that studies conducted so far have focused on sedentary females. Now, we want to check if hypertensive hypertensive men and women within the same age respond the same way physical exercise, he said.

According to the researchers, the training lasts for two months and consists of one hour of treadmill walking three times a week. The intensity of the exercise will be prescribed individually, according to a survey conducted early in the program.

In addition to anthropometric measurements such as weight, height and waist circumference, the initial evaluation includes pressure monitoring for 24 hours. This test is done with an automatic device that is attached to the arm and the patient can take home. It will also be collected a blood sample for analysis of markers such as nitrite and nitrate, plasma cortisol and testosterone.

The levels of nitrite and nitrate in the blood reflect indirectly the production of nitric oxide in the body, a substance which has a vasodilator and helps to control blood pressure, he said.

Since cortisol is evaluated because, according Zanesco, studies have shown that substance increased after menopause. Because it is the stress hormone release mediators that increase blood pressure. There are also studies that show the change in the relationship between estrogen and testosterone as the origin of hypertension, he said.

After two months of exercises, men and women and normotensive individuals will undergo further evaluation to see how each group responded to physical training.

The recruitment of volunteers began in March and has yet to last more than two years. Due to the limited number of mats in the laboratory, the training is performed in groups of 20 to 30 persons at a time. The goal is to reach 120 volunteers until the second half of 2014.

Those interested in participating can contact the researchers by phone (19) 3526-4324.

With information from FAPESP <i> </ i>

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