Table 2.
Comparisons in markers of inflammation and haematology at baseline between a healthy group and HD patients, and between the exercising and non-exercising HD groupsa
| Healthy group | HD group | P-value | Exercising HD group | Non-exercising HD group | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markers of inflammation (n = 15 and n = 28) | (n = 15 and n = 13) | |||||
| IL-6 (pg/mL) | 0.81 (0.43–1.76) | 4.63 (2.73–7.09) | <0.001* | 5.39 ± 3.05 | 4.92 ± 2.79 | 0.68 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 0.96 (0.60–1.73) | 3.21 (2.66–4.62) | <0.001* | 3.22 (2.72–4.24) | 3.20 (2.64–4.67) | 0.77 |
| CRP (mg/L) | 0.83 (0.21–1.90) | 4.61 (2.68–9.78) | <0.001* | 3.99 (2.34–6.86) | 7.89 (3.39–10.4) | 0.37 |
| Classical monocytes (%)b | 89.5 (87.0–92.1) | 80.3 (72.6–82.2) | <0.001* | 80.5 (75.4–82.3) | 79.8 (72.6–80.9) | 0.53 |
| Classical monocytes (cells/µL)b | 506 ± 130 | 516 ± 112 | 0.78 | 435 (410–525) | 580 (558–599) | 0.09 |
| Intermediate monocytes (%)b | 4.34 (3.74–4.95) | 6.77 (5.98–8.47) | <0.001* | 7.58 ± 1.68 | 6.86 ± 1.45 | 0.27 |
| Intermediate monocytes (cells/µL)b | 21.8 (19.4–29.1) | 45.9 (40.5–52.3) | <0.001* | 46.3 ± 14.7 | 49.4 ± 14.2 | 0.61 |
| Non-classical monocytes (%)b | 6.45 (4.2–8.5) | 13.6 (11.2–17.7) | <0.001* | 12.4 (10.8–16.4) | 13.8 (12.7–17.5) | 0.36 |
| Non-classical monocytes (cells/µL)b | 30.0 (23–50) | 90.9 (72.2–124.5) | <0.001* | 75.9 (59.9–105.7) | 96.9 (89.0–139.2) | 0.11 |
| Tregs (%)c | 7.67 ± 0.98 | 6.75 ± 1.53 | 0.02* | 6.93 ± 1.77 | 6.55 ± 1.24 | 0.53 |
| Tregs (cells/µL) | 20.1 (18.6–25.0) | 23.7 (17.3–36.0) | 0.53 | 23.6 (16.0–38.0) | 23.8 (19.1–32.4) | 0.57 |
| CD4+ lymphocytes (%)c | 20.2 (17.4–23.9) | 24.1 (20.1–28.9) | 0.18 | 23.9 ± 8.0 | 24.7 ± 7.2 | 0.79 |
| CD4+ lymphocytes (cells/µL) | 264 (227–369) | 366 (269–493) | 0.05* | 317 (253–496) | 369 (301–483) | 0.53 |
| Haematology (n = 15 and n = 31) | ||||||
| Haemoglobin (g/L) | 134 ± 17 | 118 ± 12 | 0.003* | 126 (118–131) | 105 (102–110) | <0.001† |
| Red blood cells (×1012/L) | 4.49 ± 0.44 | 3.67 ± 0.48 | <0.001* | 3.81 ± 0.58 | 3.55 | 0.14 |
| White blood cells (×109/L) | 5.14 ± 0.95 | 7.05 ± 2.56 | 0.001* | 6.64 ± 2.44 | 7.47 | 0.38 |
| Neutrophils (×109/L) | 2.8 (2.4–3.5) | 3.9 (3.0–5.6) | 0.005* | 3.6 (2.9–5.6) | 4.3 (3.7–5.9) | 0.32 |
| Monocytes (×109/L) | 0.5 (0.5–0.7) | 0.7 (0.5–0.8) | 0.24 | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | 0.054 |
| Lymphocytes (×109/L) | 1.5 ± 0.4 | 1.6 ± 0.6 | 0.45 | 1.58 ± 0.66 | 1.68 | 0.67 |
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation or median (25th–75th percentiles). P-values are derived from independent t-tests or Mann–Whitney test, where applicable. Classical monocytes refer to CD14++CD16−; intermediate monocytes to CD14++CD16+; non-classical monocytes to CD14+CD16++. Tregs (%) and (cells/µL) refer to the percentage and number of CD4+ lymphocytes that are CD25+CD127low/−.
For monocytes n = 24 for HD group; n = 11 for exercise HD group and n = 13 for non-exercising HD group.
For percent Tregs and percent CD4+ lymphocytes n = 16 for healthy group.
Denotes a significant difference between healthy and HD groups.
Denotes a significant difference between exercising and non-exercise groups.