Abstract

This study aimed to investigate acute effects of table tennis (physical+cognitive exercise), aerobic running (physical exercise), and chess (cognitive exercise) exercise sessions of veteran male athletes in their branches on the serum homocysteine (Hcy), insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and cortisol (Cor) levels. Thirty veteran athletes [10 table tennis players (TT), 10 long-distance runners (LR), 10 chess players (CP)] and 10 sedentary controls (SC) between 50 and 65 years of age participated in the study. Blood samples were obtained before and immediately after exercise to determine serum Hcy, IGF-1, and Cor levels. According to their branch, each veteran athlete performed exercise sessions (70-75% of the participants' heart rate reserve) of 10-min of warm-up followed by 40-min of table tennis, aerobic running, or chess. TT and LR groups demonstrated significant increases in the serum IGF-1, Cor, and Hcy levels from pre to post-exercise (p

Key words: Aging, cortisol, exercise, homocysteine, IGF-1