Acute incremental exercise to maximal performance does not cause alterations in serum oxidant levels of healthy young individuals

Aim. This study was designed to analyze serum oxidative stress (OS) levels in healthy young individuals performing a routine maximal aerobic exercise and to evaluate the correlation between OS levels and physiological parameters. Methods. Serum OS levels were studied by thermochemilumi-nescence (TCL) parameters at rest and following maximal aerobic exercise in 85 healthy young subjects. Levels were mea-sured by a real time on line TCL assay (higher TCL-Ratio and TCL-H3 = lower OS level). Results. Aerobic capacity had no effect on baseline OS levels. Post-exercise OS levels correlated with maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O_2max) (P<0.005), delta V̇O₂ (V̇O_2max- V̇O₂rest) (P<0.005), anaerobic threshold (VTH) (P<0.01), and total oxygen uptake (especially O₂ after VTH), (P<0.005). TCL-Ratio was related to total running time (P<0.01), as well. Post-exercise OS levels for the whole study group did not vary from baseline values. However, individuals with higher fitness level (V̇O_2max >per-centile 60) had significantly lower values of TCL-H3 (P=0.04) and tended to have lower TCL-Ratio, indicating they had ele-vated OS levels. In a multivariate analysis OS level was most affected by V̇O₂ after VTH (anaerobic phase of the test) (P=0.003; adjusted odds ratio of 3.41,95% confidence interval: 1.55-7.48). Conclusion. In conclusion, acute incremental exercise to maxi-mal performance does not cause alterations in serum oxidant levels of healthy young individuals. In healthy individuals performing maximal aerobic exercise, OS levels correlate with maximal aerobic power.