effect of exercise on sex hormones in postmenopausal women

Conditions: Breast Cancer Prevention

Summary: the goals of the study are to examine the effect in postmenopausal women of a one-year moderate intensity exercise intervention, as compared with a sedentary pattern (low-level stretching program), on: serum estrogens, androgens, sex hormone binding globulin, insulin, triglycerides, glucose, aromatase, fsh, lh, as well as parameters of body fat mass.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * ages 55-75 years at first group meeting * physically able to undertake a moderate exercise program * sedentary activity pattern (exercising \< 2 times/week for 20 minutes at a level to produce sweating) * postmenopausal (not experiencing menstrual periods for the previous 12 months or fsh \>30 miu/ml; for women who have had a hysterectomy, an fhs \>30 miu/ml will classify them as postmenopausal) * body mass index (bmi) greater than 25.0 * able to follow directions and fill out questionnaires, and exercise diaries and logs in english * agrees to be randomly assigned to either the exercise intervention or control group * gives informed consent to participate in all screening and study activities * able to come to the fhcrc for clinic visits and classes, to the uw medical center for ct scans, and to the uw nett for measurements and instruction exclusion criteria: * plans to leave western washington within the follow-up period * using hormone replacement, tamoxifen, or oral contraceptives in past 6 months * currently having severe hot flashes (that might prompt participant to start hormone replacement therapy before the end of study) * current unstable thyroid disease or unstable dose of thyroid medications or tsh \>5.0 iu/ml or \<0.5 iu/ml * invasive cancer in the past 10 years (except nonmelanotic skin cancer) * any other endocrinologic abnormality * breast, endometrial, ovarian, or melanoma cancer or carcinoma-in-situ at any time * morbidly obese (bmi \> 40) * current or planned use of corticosteroids * currently on or planning to enter a structured weight loss program or to take diet drugs * current use of certain other medications, such as any likely to interfere with adherence to an exercise program or likely to interfere with study outcomes * moderate to high alcohol intake (more than 2 drinks per day) * current smoker * diabetes mellitus (fasting hyperglycemia) * abnormal screening labs (hematocrit \ 48, white blood cells \ 15.0, potassium \ 5.0, fasting glucose \> 140, creatinine \> 2.0), or abnormalities on screening physical judged by study physicians to contraindicate participation in an exercise program * contraindications for entry into a training program118 including: unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension (systolic \> 200, diastolic \> 100), orthostatic hypotension (\> 20), moderate/severe aortic stenosis, uncontrolled arrhythmia, uncontrolled congestive heart failure, third degree heart block, pericarditis, myocarditis, pulmonary/systemic embolism within the past 6 months, thrombophlebitis, st displacement \> 3 mm at rest, history of cardiac arrest) * contraindications for exercise testing118 including: recent (within 6 months) cardiac event (mi, pulmonary edema, myocarditis, pericarditis), unstable angina, uncontrolled arrhythmia, third degree heart block, left bundle branch block, acute congestive failure, recent (within 6 months) pulmonary/systemic embolus, severe electrolyte abnormality * meets criteria to stop screening exercise test118 as decided by overseeing physician (dr. schwartz or mctiernan) * volunteering in order to lose weight * alcohol or drug abuse, significant mental illness (as assessed by study staff impression)