Influence of Aerobic Exercise Training on Cardiac Troponin of University Students in Nnewi South Eastern Nigeria

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major public health problem & a leading cause of mortality in Nigeria, which has been largely attributed to the decline in physical exercise predisposing people to various forms of chronic ailments in general. The objective of this study was to determine the more preferred and compare results of the effect of moderate and vigorous exercises on cardiac troponin I before exercise, four weeks after exercise, eight weeks after exercise and twelve weeks after exercise.

Methods: Serum concentration of cardiac troponin I of both vigorous exercise group (30 male individuals who played football for 40 minutes daily for 3 days/week) and moderate exercise group (30 male individuals who engaged in mild jogging for 30 minutes daily for 5 days/week) were determined using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. All data were expressed as Mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) and analyzed with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) while multiple comparisons were done using Post Hoc test. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used for correlational analysis.

Results: In the moderate exercise group, mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was reduced but no significance while mean serum cardiac troponin I was significantly increased at P<0.05 mainly 8 & 12 weeks after exercise as compared with results before exercise. In the vigorous exercise group, mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was significantly reduced while mean serum cardiac troponin I was significantly increased at P<0.05all through.

Conclusion: Physical exercise leads to transitory elevation in troponin level, though only after an extended period of physical exercise as evidenced mainly in the vigorous exercise group indicating that a moderate form of physical exercise is preferred as it either prevents or at delay the leakage of these proteins.