We review the diversity of freshwater organisms in the Mediterranean Basin (hereafter Med), particularly from streams and rivers. We present available information on the richness, endemicity, and ...distribution of each freshwater organism group within the Med, and make a comparison with Palearctic diversity. Approximately 35% of known Palearctic freshwater species and more than 6% of the World’s freshwater species are present in the Med. A high degree of endemicity is found in the Med freshwater biota. These data, together with the degree to which many freshwater species are threatened, support the inclusion of the Med among World biodiversity hotspots. Nevertheless, knowledge of Med biodiversity is still incomplete, particularly for some taxa. Regarding to the spatial distribution of species within the Med, the richest area is the North, although patterns differ among groups. A comparison of the ecological and biological traits of endemic and non-endemic species of three riverine groups (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) revealed that endemic species have several strategies and mechanisms to face typical mediterranean-climate conditions, such as drought, when compared to non-endemic species. We briefly analyse the conservation status of the region’s biodiversity. Finally, we present some future challenges regarding the knowledge and protection of Med freshwater biodiversity.
Background
Previous research has shown that diet is associated with low‐grade systemic inflammation among adults. However, no study has yet been conducted to explore the association between ...inflammatory potential of diet and low‐grade systemic inflammation among adolescents whose dietary behavior may be different from adults.
Methods and Results
We examine the predictive ability of 24‐h recall‐derived dietary inflammatory index (DII) scores on inflammation among 532 European adolescents in the HELENA cross‐sectional study. The DII is a literature‐derived dietary index developed to predict inflammation. The DII was calculated per 1000 calories and was tested against C‐reactive protein, ILs‐1,2,4,10, TNF‐α, ICAM, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), and IFN‐γ. All inflammatory markers had nonnormal distributions and therefore were log transformed. Analyses were performed using multivariable linear regression, adjusting for age, sex, city, BMI, smoking, and physical activity. Pro‐inflammatory diet (higher DII scores) was associated with increased levels of various inflammatory markers: TNF‐α, IL‐1, 2, IFN‐γ, and vascular cell adhesion molecule (bDIIt3vs1 = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.25; 0.13, 95% CI 0.001, 0.25; 0.40, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.77; 0.53, 95% CI: 0.05, 1.01; 0.07, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.13, respectively).
Conclusion
These results reinforce the fact that diet, as a whole, plays an important role in modifying inflammation in adolescents.
Previous research has shown that diet is associated with low‐grade systemic inflammation among adults. However, no study has yet been conducted to explore the association between inflammatory potential of diet and low‐grade systemic inflammation among adolescents whose dietary behavior may be different from adults. A pro‐inflammatory diet as evidenced by higher DII scores is associated with increased levels of various inflammatory markers in the healthy lifestyle in europe by nutrition in adolescents (HELENA) cross‐sectional study.
Abstract Purpose Childhood obesity is one of the major concerns in the last years due to the association with future health problems and all-cause mortality. However, there is a subset of adolescents ...with overweight/obesity who present a metabolic healthy profile. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of metabolically healthy but overweight/obese adolescents and whether sedentary time, physical activity, and fitness differ between metabolically healthy and nonmetabolically healthy phenotypes. Methods A subsample of 237 European adolescents from the HEalthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study (n = 3,528, participation rate: 61.3%) with overweight/obesity were included. The study sample was not fully representative for the European adolescent population. Based on sex- and age-specific metabolic syndrome cutoff points for triglycerides, glucose, blood pressure, and high-density cholesterol participants were classified as metabolically healthy or nonmetabolically healthy. Sedentary time, physical activity, and fitness were assessed by accelerometry and the Alpha battery, respectively. Results The prevalence of metabolically healthy status in adolescents with overweight and obesity was higher in girls (87%) than in boys (74%, p = .019), being similar when only obesity was considered. Sedentary time was lower in metabolically healthy overweight/obese than in nonmetabolically healthy participants (mean difference = 48.0 minutes, p = .012). Moderate and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were higher ( p 's < .05) in metabolically healthy than in nonmetabolically healthy adolescents with overweight/obesity (mean difference = 7.9 min/day and 10.9 min/day, respectively). No significant differences were found in fitness. Overall, these results persisted when only adolescents with obesity were included in the analyses. Conclusions Metabolically healthy adolescents with overweight/obesity are less sedentary and more active than their nonmetabolically healthy peers with overweight/obesity, yet consistent differences in fitness were not observed.
The association of physical activity and fitness with sleep still remains unclear since there is a lack of studies in this field of research using objective measurements of these variables. This ...study aimed to investigate the association of objectively-measured sedentariness, physical activity levels, and physical fitness with sleep quantity and quality in sedentary middle-aged adults. A total of 74 volunteers (52.7% women; aged 53.7 ± 5.1) were recruited for the present study. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured through a maximal treadmill test, and muscular strength by extension and flexion peak torque, and by the hand grip test. Physical activity and objective sleep parameters were determined through accelerometry, and subjective sleep by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Reduced levels of sedentariness, greater VO
, and greater muscular strength were positively related to improved objective sleep quantity and quality (all P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, higher levels of overall physical activity, VO
, and muscular strength were related to better subjective sleep quantity and quality (all P ≤ 0.05). Reduced sedentariness and increased physical activity and fitness may be a potential prevention and/or treatment pathway to reduce sleep disturbances and, in general, to improve patients physical and psychological health for a successful aging process.
The steady rise in life expectancy occurred across all developed countries during the last century. This demographic trend is, however, not accompanied by the same healthspan extension. This is since ...aging is the main risk factor for all age‐associated pathological conditions. Therefore, slowing the rate of aging is suggested to be more efficient in preventing or delaying age‐related diseases than treat them one by one, which is the common approach in a current pharmacological disease‐oriented paradigm. To date, a variety of medications designed to treat particular pathological conditions have been shown to exhibit pro‐longevity effects in different experimental models. Among them, there are many commonly used prescription and over‐the‐counter pharmaceuticals such as metformin, rapamycin, aspirin, statins, melatonin, vitamin antioxidants, etc. All of them are being increasingly investigated in preclinical and clinical trials with the aim of determine whether they have potential for extension of human healthspan. The results from these trials are frequently inconclusive and fall short of initial expectations, suggesting that innovative research ideas and additional translational steps are required to overcome obstacles for implementation of such approaches in clinical practice. In this review, recent advances and challenges in the field of repurposing widely used conventional pharmaceuticals to target the aging process are summarized and discussed.
Background
Exercise holds promise as a non‐pharmacological intervention for the improvement of sleep quality. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of different training modalities on sleep ...quality parameters.
Material & methods
A total of 69 (52.7% women) middle‐aged sedentary adults were randomized to (a) control group, (b) physical activity recommendation from the World Health Organization, (c) high‐intensity interval training (HIIT) and (d) high‐intensity interval training group adding whole‐body electromyostimulation training (HIITEMS). Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale and accelerometers.
Results
All intervention groups showed a lower PSQI global score (all P < .022). HIIT‐EMS group improved all accelerometer parameters, with higher total sleep time and sleep efficiency, and lower wake after sleep onset (all P < .016). No differences were found between groups in any sleep quality parameter.
Conclusion
In conclusion, exercise training induced an improvement in subjective sleep quality in sedentary middleaged adults. Moreover, HIIT‐EMS training showed an improvement in objective sleep quality parameters (total sleep time, sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset) after 12 weeks of exercise intervention. The changes observed in the HIIT‐EMS group were not statistically different to the other exercise modalities.
The present study summarises the work developed by the ALPHA (Assessing Levels of Physical Activity) study and describes the procedures followed to select the tests included in the ALPHA ...health-related fitness test battery for children and adolescents. The authors reviewed physical fitness and health in youth findings from cross-sectional studies. The authors also performed three systematic reviews dealing with (1) the predictive validity of health-related fitness, (2) the criterion validity of field-based fitness tests and (3) the reliability of field-based fitness tests in youth. The authors also carried out 11-methodological studies to determine the criterion validity and the reliability of several field-based fitness tests for youth. Finally, the authors performed a study in the school setting to examine the reliability, feasibility and safety of the selected tests. The selected fitness tests were (1) the 20 m shuttle run test to assess cardiorespiratory fitness; (2) the handgrip strength and (3) standing broad jump to assess musculoskeletal fitness, and (4) body mass index, (5) skinfold thickness and (5) waist circumference to assess body composition. When there are time limits, the authors propose the high-priority ALPHA health-related fitness test battery, which comprises all the evidence-based fitness tests except the measurement of the skinfold thickness. The time required to administer this battery to a group of 20 youth by one physical education teacher is less than 2 h. In conclusion, the ALPHA fitness tests battery is valid, reliable, feasible and safe for the assessment of health-related physical fitness in children and adolescents to be used for health monitoring purposes at population level.
Objectives This study sought to assess the impact of muscular strength on mortality in men with hypertension. Background Muscular strength is inversely associated with mortality in healthy men, but ...this association has not been examined in men with hypertension. Methods We followed 1,506 hypertensive men age 40 years and older enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study from 1980 to 2003. Participants received an extensive medical examination at baseline. Muscular strength was quantified by combining 1 repetition maximum (1-RM) measures for leg and bench press and cardiorespiratory fitness assessed by maximum exercise test on a treadmill. Results During an average follow-up of 18.3 years, 183 deaths occurred. Age-adjusted death rates per 10,000 person-years across incremental thirds of muscular strength were 81.8, 65.5, and 52.0 (p < 0.05 for linear trend). Multivariable Cox regression hazard ratios were 1.0 (reference), 0.81 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.57 to 1.14), and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.40 to 0.86) across incremental thirds of muscular strength. After further adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness, those participants in the upper third of muscular strength still had a lower risk of death (hazard ratio HR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.98). In the muscular strength and CRF combined analysis, men simultaneously in the upper third of muscular strength and high fitness group had the lowest mortality risk among all combination groups (HR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.82), with men in the lower third of muscular strength and low fitness group as reference. Conclusions High levels of muscular strength appear to protect hypertensive men against all-cause mortality, and this is in addition to the benefit provided by cardiorespiratory fitness.
Sleep quality plays an important role in the modulation of several aging markers. This influence could be explained by aging-induced hormonal changes. Indeed, poor sleep quality has been associated ...with the development of several endocrine-related health complications. This study examined the relationship of both subjective and objective sleep quantity and quality, with basal levels of selected plasma anabolic and catabolic hormones in sedentary middle-aged adults. A total of 74 volunteers (52.7% women; aged 53.7 ± 5.1) were recruited for this study. Subjective sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; higher scores indicate worse sleep quality), and objective sleep quality parameters (total sleep time TST, wake after sleep onset WASO, and sleep efficiency SE) were measured using a wrist-worn accelerometer. Basal levels of plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), somatotropin, and cortisol levels, were determined. Free testosterone was calculated from the total testosterone and SHBG levels. No associations of global PSQI score, TST, WASO, and SE with DHEAS, free testosterone, and somatotropin plasma levels were found, neither in men nor in women (all
≥ 0.05). Global PSQI score was inversely related to cortisol plasma levels in women (
= 0.043). WASO was positively associated with cortisol plasma levels, while SE was negatively associated with cortisol plasma levels in women (all
≤ 0.027). Sleep quality is not related to levels of plasma anabolic hormones, but to levels of catabolic hormones, in sedentary middle-aged adults. Therefore, these results suggest that potential changes in aging biomarkers associated with sleep disturbances, could be mediated by age-related changes in the catabolic endocrine system.
Soluble Klotho (S-Klotho) is an aging suppressor with a close link with inflammation. However, it is still unknown whether the dietary inflammatory potential is associated with S-Klotho plasma level. ...We aimed to investigate the association of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) with S-Klotho plasma levels in middle-aged sedentary adults.
73 middle-aged sedentary adults (40-65 years old) participated in the present study. DII was determined from 28 dietary items obtained by 24 h recalls and food frequency questionnaires. The S-Klotho plasma levels were measured using a solid-phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
a weak positive association was observed between DII and S-Klotho plasma levels (β = 52.223, R
= 0.057,
= 0.043), which disappeared after controlling for body mass index (
= 0.057).
A pro-inflammatory dietary pattern measured with the DII was slightly and positively associated with S-Klotho plasma levels in middle-aged sedentary adults.
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