Association among basal serum BDNF, cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular disease risk factors in untrained healthy Korean men

Evidence suggests that serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (serum BDNF) can be affected by cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), but this relationship is far from clear. Recent reports show an inverse relationship between serum BDNF and CRF in healthy individuals, and other studies suggest a possible association between serum BDNF and cardiovascular disease. However, the possible interaction between serum BDNF, CRF, and cardiovascular disease risk has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the association among serum BDNF, CRF, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in healthy men. The investigation involved a large sample of men (n = 995, age range: 20-76 years) who live in the central area of South Korea and were recruited into the Preventive Health Study. Our study showed a significant inverse relationship between serum BDNF and relative VO(2)max (r = -0.412, p < 0.0001) and heart rate reserve (r = -0.194, p < 0.0001). Serum BDNF was positively correlated with body mass index (r = 0.80, p < 0.0001), total cholesterol (r = 0.185, p < 0.0001), and triglyceride (r = 0.320, p < 0.0001). Our data suggest that serum BDNF may be associated with effects of increased CRF on cardiovascular disease. However, more research is clearly needed before a determination of whether, and to what extent, serum BDNF may be responsible for some of the health benefits associated with CRF.