CHANGES IN HEMOSTATIC FACTORS AND ACTIVATION PRODUCTS AFTER EXERCISE IN HEALTHY-SUBJECTS WITH DIFFERENT AGES

We studied exercise-induced changes in coagulation and fibrinolytic fa ctors and activation products in different age categories. Thirty-eigh t sedentary males, divided in three age categories (cats I-III; 20-30, 35-45 and 50-60 y) were subjected to a standardized exercise test. Pr e-exercise levels (cats I-III resp) of FVII:c (105 +/- 5, 121 +/- 6 an d 123 +/- 7% NP), fibrinogen (2.35 +/- 0.12, 2.55 +/- 0.10 and 2.66 +/ - 0.09 mg/ml), prothrombin activation fragment F-1+2 (0.80 +/- 0.10, 0 .80 +/- 0.11 and 1.22 +/- 0.16 nM), t-PA (5,2 +/- 0.6, 9.2 +/- 1.0, 8. 6 +/- 1.2 ng/ml) and PAI-1 (42.8 +/- 7.5, 67.6 +/- 7.6, 62.2 +/- 10.9 ng/ml) showed differences that seemed related to age. Regression analy sis revealed associations with anthropometry (FVII:c, fibrinogen, F-12, t-PA, PAI-1) rather than with age. Exercise-induced changes in coag ulation (increase in von Willebrand factor and FVIII:c and a shortenin g of APTT) and fibrinolytic potential (increase in t-PA and u-PA) were of comparable magnitude for the three age categories. Hardly any chan ge in F-1+2 (6%) was observed, while thrombin-antithrombin complexes ( 93%), plasminantiplasmin complexes (79%) and D-dimer (77%) almost doub led during maximal exercise. We conclude that anthropometric differenc es play a more significant role than age on constitutive levels of hae mostatic factors in participants up to 60 years of age. The magnitude of exercise-induced changes is comparable in the age categories under study, and simply super-imposed on constitutive (pre-exercise) levels. Clear evidence for prothrombin activation is lacking, but plasmin for mation is enhanced during exercise.