Social dancing: the relationship between physical activity at balls and neopterin in Brazilian older women

Purpose Neopterin is a marker of the immune system's activation, and physical activity is related to the disease’s occurrence provided for it. In older women, ball is a place where physical activities and social relationships are yields. So, this study aims to analyze the association between physical activity performed at balls and neopterin levels in older women’ urine. Methods One hundred two older women were divided into balls and control groups. A questionnaire was used for sociodemographic information; an accelerometer for measuring different levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior (min/week), and; High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and reagents to measure urine neopterin (μmol/mol creatinine). Results Physical activity at balls was associated in different levels with neopterin: − 3.61 (μmol/μmol Creatinine)/minute over light physical activity ( p = 0.02) and − 2.29 (μmol/Μmol creatinine)/minute over moderate/vigorous physical activity ( p = 0.03). The dance performed at balls in moderate/vigorous-intensity is composed of an average of 29.3 min of continuous activity and 57.6 min of intermittent activity. Conclusion Dancing at “Social Dancing” can contribute to cardiovascular disease prevention in older women. The amount of high light/moderate/vigorous physical activity had an inverse relationship with neopterin in the balls group.