Impact of three types of resistance, aerobic, and combined exercises on serum levels of cardiac biomarkers in active older adults

This study explored the impact of eight weeks of resistance, aerobic, and combined exercises on serum levels of Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in active older men. Thirty-six participants were randomly divided into three groups (resistance, aerobic, and combined exercise), and serum levels were measured using ELISA kits before and after the exercise protocols. The results revealed a significant 6.4% increase in GDF-15 levels following aerobic exercise, while resistance exercise caused an 18.05% decrease. No notable change was observed in the combined exercise group for GDF-15. For NT-proBNP, aerobic and combined exercises led to reductions of 34.1% and 24.8%, respectively, while resistance exercises resulted in a 37.7% increase. These findings indicate that resistance exercises can reduce GDF-15 levels, which contrasts with the general view that aerobic exercises alone benefit cardiac health. Additionally, aerobic and combined exercises were effective in lowering NT-proBNP levels, whereas resistance exercises had the opposite effect.