Association of recreational physical activity with homocysteine, folate and lipid markers in young women

Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009 Jan;105(1):111-8. Epub 2008 Oct 14. Association of recreational physical activity with homocysteine, folate and lipid markers in young women. Di Santolo M, Banfi G, Stel G, Cauci S. SourceDepartment of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, School of Medicine, University of Udine, 33100, Udine, Italy. Abstract We assessed the influence of recreational physical activity in young healthy women on homocysteine, a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Participants were 124 23-year-old normal-weight Italian recreational athletes (performing 8.7 +/- 2.46 h week(-1) exercise) and 116 controls. Median blood homocysteine, folate and lipid markers did not differ between athletes and controls. Elevated homocysteine levels at CVD risk > or =12.0 and > or =15.0 micromol l(-1) were not different between groups. Continuous homocysteine was inversely related to folate (P < 0.001), positively associated with age (P = 0.009) and creatinine (P = 0.033), but not associated with hours of exercise, body mass index, and lipid markers. Women with folate depletion (<3.0 microg l(-1)) were 4.5-fold more likely to have homocysteine > or =15.0 micromol l(-1). Recreational physical exercise does not adversely impact homocysteine levels among young women. Only low folate significantly increases the risk for hyperhomocysteinemia in young women.