This study tested the effect of isoflavone supplementation in addition to combined exercise training on plasma lipid levels, inflammatory markers and oxidative stress in postmenopausal women. Thirty-two healthy and non-obese postmenopausal women without hormone therapy were randomly assigned to exercise + placebo (PLA; n = 15) or exercise + isoflavone supplementation (ISO; n = 17) groups. They performed 30 sessions of combined exercises (aerobic plus resistance) over ten weeks and consumed 100 mg of isoflavone supplementation or placebo. Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast to analyze the lipid profile, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (FRAP), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), before and after ten weeks of the intervention. There were no differences in the changes (pre vs. post) between groups for any of the inflammatory markers, oxidative stress markers or lipid profile variables. However, interleukin-8 was different between pre- and post-tests (p < 0.001) in both groups (Δ = 7.61 and 5.61 pg/mL) as were cholesterol levels (p < 0.05), with no interaction between groups. The combination of isoflavone supplementation and exercise training did not alter oxidative stress markers in postmenopausal women, but exercise training alone may increase IL-8 and decrease total cholesterol levels.

No abstract

No abstract

A period of 10 weeks of combined training was effective in improving climacteric symptoms in post-menopausal women. However, isoflavone supplementation did not promote additional effects in improving symptoms.

The aim of this study was to investigate the acute and chronic effects, and their correlation, after combined aerobic and resistance exercises in blood pressure (BP) and its variability (BPV) in hypertensive postmenopausal women. Fourteen hypertensive postmenopausal women monitored BP at rest and during 24 h by ambulatory BP monitoring in a control day without exercise performance a pretraining (baseline), after an acute exercise session (acute), and after a chronic exercise training for 10 weeks (chronic). After exercise training, systolic BP (SBP, Δ = −150 mmHg.24 h), diastolic BP (DBP, Δ = −96 mmHg.24 h), and mean BP (MBP, Δ = −95 mmHg.24 h) area under the curve were smaller than baseline measurements (P < 0.05) with no difference between acute and baseline measurements. The SBP (ΔSD24 = −2, ΔSDdn = −1.7, and ΔARV24 = −1.9 mmHg), DBP (ΔSD24 = −0.9, ΔSDdn = −0.8, and ΔARV24 = −0.9 mmHg), and MBP (ΔSD24 = −1.5, ΔSDdn = −1.3, and ΔARV24 = −1.2 mmHg) variability reduced in acute session in relation to baseline, with no chronic effects. There are moderate correlations between acute and chronic responses in wake SBP, sleep DBP, and SD24. In conclusion, combined exercise reduces ambulatory BP chronically but not acutely. In contrast, BPV decreases after an acute session but not chronically. Awake SBP, sleep DBP, and SD24 indices are promising candidates to predict individual cardiovascular responses to exercise.