Racial differences in the time-course oxidative stress responses to acute exercise

African Americans have disproportionate levels of cardiovascular disease and oxidative stress. The purpose of our study was to examine racial differences between African American and Caucasian adults in time-course oxidative stress responses to a treadmill test. After a 12-hr fast, 18 participants (9 of each ethnic group; 21 ± 0.4 yrs) completed a submaximal treadmill test and underwent serial blood draws: Pre, Post (within 2 min), 30, 60, and 120 min after exercise. At each time-point, superoxide dismutase (SOD, U/mL), total antioxidant capacity (TAC, mM), protein carbonyls (PC, nmol/mg), and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARs, μmol/L) were measured. We found no difference between groups for blood pressure, BMI, or exercise capacity (as measured by volume of oxygen consumed, VO₂ max). African Americans had significantly (p < 0.05) higher SOD (Pre: 5.45 ± 0.4 vs. 3.69 ± 0.69; 60 min: 8.99 ± 0.7 vs. 4.23 ± 0.6; 120 min: 9.69 ± 1.6 vs. 3.52 ± 0.7), TAC (Pre: 2.31 ± 0.25 vs. 1.16 ± 0.3; Post: 2.39 ± 0.2 vs. 1.34 ± 0.2; 30 min: 2.29 ± 0.2 vs. 1.09 ± 0.2), and PC (Pre: 1.09 ± 0.1 vs. 0.82 ± 0.1; Post: 1.14 ± 0.1 vs. 0.81 ± 0.1; 30 min: 1.13 ± 0.1 vs. 0.85 ± 0.1; 60 min: 1.06 ± 0.1 vs. 0.81 ± 0.05), but not TBARs. Between groups, only SOD exhibited a different time-course response: levels for African Americans rose steadily throughout the 120 min, while levels for Caucasians peaked at 30 min and by 120 min had returned to pre-exercise levels. Race had a greater effect on oxidative stress responses than submaximal exercise did. African Americans had significantly higher TAC, SOD, and PC levels compared to Caucasians.