Aerobic Exercise Increases Tear Secretion and Decreases Inflammatory Cytokines in Healthy Subjects

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of tear secretion and inflammatory cytokines induced by aerobic exercise (AE) on healthy Chinese. Design: A prospective, cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 73 eyes from 43 healthy participants were included in this study, which was composed of 2 parts. Thirty individuals were included to investigate the effect of AE on tear secretion. Tear samples from extra 13 healthy subjects were collected to explore the effect of AE on tear cytokines profiles. Results: In the first section, both areas of lower tear meniscus and volume of lower tear meniscus showed significant increase at 10 minutes after AE (P <0.01). In the second section, a total of 15 tear cytokines including interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12P70, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17A, IL-21, and IL-27 were significantly lower at 20minutes after AE than that of baseline (P < 0.01), whereas CCL/MIP-3 alpha persisted to decrease at 60 minutes after exercise (P= 0.031). However, there was no significant difference of lL-2 concentration between baseline and any time point after exercise (P> 0.05). Conclusions: AE could promote tear secretion and decrease inflammatory cytokines in healthy subjects.