Daily physical activity is negatively associated with thyroid hormone levels, inflammation, and immune system markers among men and women in the NHANES dataset
Three articles on PainSci cite Klasson 2022: 1. The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain 2. Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation 3. What Works for Chronic Pain?
PainSci notes on Klasson 2022:
This is a good trial linking long-term daily physical activity to clear reductions in systemic inflammation (as measured by major biomarkers). They found “evidence for both systemic metabolic effects via thyroid hormones and in specific systems via reduced inflammation and immune cell counts.”
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
The acute effects of exercise on metabolic energy expenditure and inflammation are well studied, but the long-term effects of regular daily physical activity on metabolic and endocrine effects are less clear. Further, prior studies investigating the impact of daily physical activity in large cohorts have generally relied on self-reported activity. Here, we used the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to investigate the relationship between daily physical activity and both thyroid and immune activity. Daily physical activity was assessed through accelerometry or accelerometry-validated survey responses. Thyroid activity was assessed from circulating levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4). Immune function was assessed from circulating cytokines (C-reactive protein [CRP], immunoglobulin E [IgE], fibrinogen) and blood cell counts. In general linear models including body mass index, age, gender, activity and TSH as factors, active adults had a lower levels of T4 and reduced slope of the TSH:T4 relationship. Similarly, greater physical activity was associated with lower CRP and fibrinogen levels (but not IgE) and lower white blood cell, basophil, monocyte, neutrophil, and eosinophil (but not lymphocyte) counts. Daily physical activity was also associated with lower prevalence of clinically elevated CRP, WBC, and lymphocytes in a dose-response manner. These results underscore the long-term impact of daily physical activity on both systemic metabolic activity (thyroid) and on specific physiological tasks (immune). The regulatory effects of physical activity on other bodily systems are clinically relevant and should be incorporated into public health strategies promoting exercise.
related content
- “Comparative efficacy of exercise therapy and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol for knee or hip osteoarthritis: a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials,” Weng et al, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2023.
- “Vigorous physical activity, incident heart disease, and cancer: how little is enough?,” Ahmadi et al, Eur Heart J, 2022.
- “Association of Muscle-Strengthening and Aerobic Physical Activity With Mortality in US Adults Aged 65 Years or Older,” Webber et al, JAMA Netw Open, 2022.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Cannabidiol (CBD) products for pain: ineffective, expensive, and with potential harms. Moore 2023 J Pain.
- Inciting events associated with lumbar disc herniation. Suri 2010 Spine J.
- Prediction of an extruded fragment in lumbar disc patients from clinical presentations. Pople 1994 Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
- Characteristics of patients with low back and leg pain seeking treatment in primary care: baseline results from the ATLAS cohort study. Konstantinou 2015 BMC Musculoskelet Disord.
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training compared with normal school provision in reducing risk of mental health problems and promoting well-being in adolescence: the MYRIAD cluster randomised controlled trial. Kuyken 2022 Evid Based Ment Health.