A meta-analysis of 32 studies in postmenopausal women found aerobic, resistance and combined exercise training reduced inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-alpha and CRP, and increased adiponectin, versus control.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,510 participants pooled · 2021PostmenopausalCited 58 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis of 39 trials in postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity found resistance training lowered CRP most, combined training lowered IL-6 and TNF-alpha, and leptin did not change.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,714 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
Over one year, overweight postmenopausal women on a calorie restriction diet, with or without exercise, showed reduced inflammatory markers compared to controls, while exercise alone showed smaller effects.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 438 women · 52 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 193 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors cycling three times weekly for 15 weeks showed improved heart rate recovery and a non-significant drop in C-reactive protein versus controls.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 52 women · 15 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 140 timesPubMed
A 6-month aerobic exercise program in overweight postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure increased fitness and reduced weight and waist circumference but did not change blood pressure or lipid or inflammatory markers.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 267 women · 26 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 90 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes did diet, exercise, or both for 14 weeks; CRP fell with all approaches but exercise alone changed weight and leptin only slightly.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 33 women · 14 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 150 timesPubMed
In 115 obese or overweight sedentary postmenopausal women, a yearlong moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program reduced C-reactive protein by 10% versus an increase in stretching controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 115 women · 52 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 106 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal breast cancer survivors doing six months of aerobic exercise, researchers found no significant effect on inflammatory markers compared with usual care overall.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 75 women · 26 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 102 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did aerobic exercise five days a week for a year, gaining fitness and losing weight, with oxidative stress markers decreasing most in those with the largest fitness gains.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 173 women · 52 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 88 timesPubMed
In 390 sedentary overweight postmenopausal women, six months of higher dose aerobic exercise reduced total white blood cell and neutrophil counts more than lower doses or no exercise.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 390 women · 26 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 59 timesPubMed
Healthy postmenopausal women did one year of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise versus usual inactivity, and exercisers showed reduced C-reactive protein but no change in IL-6 or TNF-alpha.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 160 women · 52 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 61 timesPubMed
In overweight postmenopausal women, 16 weeks of weight loss mainly through exercise reduced CRP and leptin levels, with possibly greater effect on CRP than diet-induced weight loss.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 243 women · 16 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 48 timesPubMed
In 421 sedentary postmenopausal women, 6 months of aerobic exercise at three different doses did not improve C-reactive protein, though weight loss was linked to CRP improvement.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 421 women · 26 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 42 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with fatty liver disease did 24 weeks of supervised aerobic activity, reducing waist circumference, raising HDL cholesterol, and improving fitness versus controls.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 40 women · 24 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 51 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did a 1-year diet and/or physical activity program, and inflammation marker CRP improved mainly with diet, not with physical activity alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 125 women · 52 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 42 timesPubMed
In two trials of inactive postmenopausal women doing prescribed aerobic exercise for a year, exercise did not significantly change anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 or IL-10 compared with controls.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 720 women · 52 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 25 timesPubMed
Elderly postmenopausal women did a 12 week home bench step exercise program, and those with lower starting HDL cholesterol showed increased HDL and reduced an inflammatory marker.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 62 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 37 timesPubMed
Patients with knee osteoarthritis, including postmenopausal women, did 6 weeks of isokinetic or aerobic exercise and reported less pain and more muscle strength, with no significant drop in inflammatory markers.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 42 women · 6 weeks · 2015Midlife womenCited 39 timesPubMed
Inactive postmenopausal women did a year of moderate or high volume aerobic exercise, and researchers found no significant difference in inflammatory markers between the two prescribed volumes.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 386 women · 52 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did a 12 month calorie restriction, aerobic exercise, or combined diet and exercise program; diet related arms showed greater drops in dietary inflammatory index, mostly explained by weight loss.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 365 women · 52 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did 16 weeks of low to moderate intensity treadmill walking, which lowered inflammatory cytokines and reproductive hormone levels compared with controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 28 women · 16 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 34 timesPubMed
Twenty two postmenopausal women did two months of walking and cycling, and the exercise group showed increased pentraxin 3, HDL cholesterol, peak oxygen uptake and arterial compliance.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 22 women · 8 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed
Obese, inactive postmenopausal Black women at breast cancer risk did 6 months of supervised or home-based aerobic exercise and researchers found reduced allostatic load scores compared with controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 213 women · 26 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did a year of diet, aerobic exercise, or both, and body weight, glucose and inflammation markers improved regardless of antidepressant use.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 439 women · 52 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome features did 6 months of low-load circuit resistance or aerobic cycling training; both groups reduced body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol with no difference between methods.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 34 women · 24 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed
In a 24-month trial, postmenopausal women with high breast density doing moderate-intensity physical activity showed lower levels of two inflammatory markers than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 234 women · 104 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
In 400 postmenopausal women, moderate versus high doses of aerobic exercise for a year showed no difference in breast cancer biomarkers measured two years later.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 333 women · 104 weeks · 2019PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women did aerobic treadmill exercise plus diet for 3 months and showed reduced inflammatory and endothelial markers versus no intervention.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 80 women · 12 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 14 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women averaging 56 years, 12 weeks of treadmill exercise improved waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, interleukin-6 levels and exercise capacity compared to a control group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 46 women · 12 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
Sixteen normotensive postmenopausal women did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise with or without l-arginine, and exercise alone lowered systolic blood pressure over 24 hours without changing inflammatory markers.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 16 women · 2016PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
A review reported that aerobic and resistance exercise in postmenopausal women with osteoarthritis improved joint function, reduced pain and modulated inflammatory markers.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
A trial plans to randomize 40 postmenopausal women with late onset asthma to 12 weeks of supervised spinning versus usual care, measuring change in asthma symptom control.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 40 women · 12 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
In middle-aged women, a single session of resistance exercise or intense spinning both increased oxidative stress markers and temporarily lowered immune cell counts after exercise.
Reported a worseningControlled trial · 34 women · 2012Midlife womenCited 16 timesPubMed