This review aims to summarize the latest developments with regard to physical fitness and several health outcomes in young people. The literature reviewed suggests that (1) cardiorespiratory fitness ...levels are associated with total and abdominal adiposity; (2) both cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness are shown to be associated with established and emerging cardiovascular disease risk factors; (3) improvements in muscular fitness and speed/agility, rather than cardiorespiratory fitness, seem to have a positive effect on skeletal health; (4) both cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness enhancements are recommended in pediatric cancer patients/survivors in order to attenuate fatigue and improve their quality of life; and (5) improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness have positive effects on depression, anxiety, mood status and self-esteem, and seem also to be associated with a higher academic performance. In conclusion, health promotion policies and physical activity programs should be designed to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, but also two other physical fitness components such us muscular fitness and speed/agility. Schools may play an important role by identifying children with low physical fitness and by promoting positive health behaviors such as encouraging children to be active, with special emphasis on the intensity of the activity.
This study compares levels and patterns of objectively assessed physical activity in Sweden and the United States by using identical accelerometer metrics. Data of adult respondents with ≥4 days with ...≥10 hours per day of accelerometer wear from Sweden (2001–2002, n = 1,172) and the United States (2003–2004, n = 2,925) were compared. Outcomes reported by age and body mass index within sex include accelerometer counts per minute and amounts and bouts of activity at different intensities, that is, sedentary, low, lifestyle, and moderate or higher intensity physical activity. The mean counts per minute were 375 (95% confidence interval (CI): 360, 390) and 377 (95% CI: 363, 391) for Swedish and US males, respectively, and 363 (95% CI: 347, 379) and 298 (95% CI: 289, 307) for Swedish and US females. Older respondents and those with higher body mass index had lower activity levels. Swedish and US males spent 36 (95% CI: 34, 38) and 33 (95% CI: 31, 36) minutes per day, and Swedish and US females spent 32 (95% CI: 29, 34) and 19 (95% CI: 17, 21) minutes per day in moderate or higher intensity physical activity. Older Swedes were more active in moderate or higher intensity activities than were older US respondents. However, younger Swedish males had more sedentary behavior time than did younger US males. These results provide a framework for international comparisons of physical activity levels and patterns, and they represent strong evidence for the importance of investment in objective measurement of physical activity.
Objective To examine prospectively the association between muscular strength and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in men.Design Prospective cohort study.Setting Aerobics ...centre longitudinal study.Participants 8762 men aged 20-80.Main outcome measures All cause mortality up to 31 December 2003; muscular strength, quantified by combining one repetition maximal measures for leg and bench presses and further categorised as age specific thirds of the combined strength variable; and cardiorespiratory fitness assessed by a maximal exercise test on a treadmill.Results During an average follow-up of 18.9 years, 503 deaths occurred (145 cardiovascular disease, 199 cancer). Age adjusted death rates per 10 000 person years across incremental thirds of muscular strength were 38.9, 25.9, and 26.6 for all causes; 12.1, 7.6, and 6.6 for cardiovascular disease; and 6.1, 4.9, and 4.2 for cancer (all P<0.01 for linear trend). After adjusting for age, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, body mass index, baseline medical conditions, and family history of cardiovascular disease, hazard ratios across incremental thirds of muscular strength for all cause mortality were 1.0 (referent), 0.72 (95% confidence interval 0.58 to 0.90), and 0.77 (0.62 to 0.96); for death from cardiovascular disease were 1.0 (referent), 0.74 (0.50 to 1.10), and 0.71 (0.47 to 1.07); and for death from cancer were 1.0 (referent), 0.72 (0.51 to 1.00), and 0.68 (0.48 to 0.97). The pattern of the association between muscular strength and death from all causes and cancer persisted after further adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness; however, the association between muscular strength and death from cardiovascular disease was attenuated after further adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness.Conclusion Muscular strength is inversely and independently associated with death from all causes and cancer in men, even after adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness and other potential confounders.
The authors' aim in this cross-sectional study was to characterize levels of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time in adolescents from 9 European countries. The study comprised ...2,200 European adolescents (1,184 girls) participating in the HELENA cross-sectional study (2006-2008). Physical activity was measured by accelerometry and was expressed as average intensity (counts/minute) and amount of time (minutes/day) spent engaging in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). Time spent in sedentary behaviors was also objectively measured. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by means of the 20-m shuttle run test. Level of maternal education was reported by the adolescents. A higher proportion of boys (56.8% of boys vs. 27.5% of girls) met the physical activity recommendations of at least 60 minutes/day of MVPA. Adolescents spent most of the registered time in sedentary behaviors (9 hours/day, or 71% of the registered time). Both average intensity and MVPA were higher in adolescents with high cardiorespiratory fitness, and sedentary time was lower in the high-fitness group. There were no physical activity or sedentary time differences between maternal education categories. These data provide an objective measure of physical activity and amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors in a relatively large number of European adolescents.
The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed to measure health-related physical activity (PA) in populations. The short version of the IPAQ has been tested extensively and ...is now used in many international studies. The present study aimed to explore the validity characteristics of the long-version IPAQ.
Forty-six voluntary healthy male and female subjects (age, mean +/- standard deviation: 40.7 +/- 10.3 years) participated in the study. PA indicators derived from the long, self-administered IPAQ were compared with data from an activity monitor and a PA log book for concurrent validity, and with aerobic fitness, body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat for construct validity.
Strong positive relationships were observed between the activity monitor data and the IPAQ data for total PA (rho = 0.55, P < 0.001) and vigorous PA (rho = 0.71, P < 0.001), but a weaker relationship for moderate PA (rho = 0.21, P = 0.051). Calculated MET-h day(-1) from the PA log book was significantly correlated with MET-h day(-1) from the IPAQ (rho = 0.67, P < 0.001). A weak correlation was observed between IPAQ data for total PA and both aerobic fitness (rho = 0.21, P = 0.051) and BMI (rho = 0.25, P = 0.009). No significant correlation was observed between percentage body fat and IPAQ variables. Bland-Altman analysis suggested that the inability of activity monitors to detect certain types of activities might introduce a source of error in criterion validation studies.
The long, self-administered IPAQ questionnaire has acceptable validity when assessing levels and patterns of PA in healthy adults.
The present article aimed to investigate 1) if mental health problems (depression and burnout including the dimensions; emotional exhaustion, mental distance and cognitive and emotional impairment) ...differed between nurses and physicians in Sweden, 2) if any differences were explained by differences in sex compositions, and 3) if any sex differences were larger within either of the two professions.
Data were derived from a representative sample of nurses (n = 2903) and physicians (n = 2712) in 2022. Two scales were used to assess burnout (KEDS and BAT) and one to assess depression (SCL-6). The BAT scale has four sub-dimensions. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyse each scale and dimension separately.
Results showed that 16–28 % of nurses and physicians reported moderate to severe symptoms of burnout. The prevalence differed between occupations across the scales and dimensions used. Nurses reported higher scores on KEDS while physicians reported higher scores on BAT including the four dimensions. Also, 7 % of nurses' and 6 % of physicians' scores were above the cut-off for major depression. The inclusion of sex in the models changed the odds ratios of differences between doctors and nurses in all mental health dimensions except mental distance and cognitive impairment.
This study was based on cross-sectional survey data which has some limitations.
Our study suggests that the prevalence of mental health problems is prominent among nurses and physicians in Sweden. Sex plays an important role in the difference in the prevalence of mental health problems between the two professions.
•A high prevalence of mental health problems exists in Swedish nurses and physicians.•Sex explains a large share of the differences in the prevalence of mental health problems between occupations.•We used a large national representative sample to map mental health problems among nurses and physicians in Sweden.
Physical activity (PA) is one of the most important factors for improving population health, but no standardised systems exist for international surveillance. The International Physical Activity ...Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed for international surveillance. The purpose of this study was a comparative international study of population physical activity prevalence across 20 countries.
Between 2002-2004, a standardised protocol using IPAQ was used to assess PA participation in 20 countries total N = 52,746, aged 18-65 years. The median survey response rate was 61%. Physical activity levels were categorised as "low", "moderate" and "high". Age-adjusted prevalence estimates are presented by sex.
The prevalence of "high PA" varied from 21-63%; in eight countries high PA was reported for over half of the adult population. The prevalence of "low PA" varied from 9% to 43%. Males more frequently reported high PA than females in 17 of 20 countries. The prevalence of low PA ranged from 7-41% among males, and 6-49% among females. Gender differences were noted, especially for younger adults, with males more active than females in most countries. Markedly lower physical activity prevalence (10% difference) with increasing age was noted in 11 of 19 countries for males, but only in three countries for women. The ways populations accumulated PA differed, with some reporting mostly vigorous intensity activities and others mostly walking.
This study demonstrated the feasibility of international PA surveillance, and showed that IPAQ is an acceptable surveillance instrument, at least within countries. If assessment methods are used consistently over time, trend data will inform countries about the success of their efforts to promote physical activity.
Routine monitoring of workplace exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is performed mainly via active sampling. However, active samplers have several drawbacks and, in some cases, may ...even be unusable. Polyurethane foam (PUF) as personal passive air samplers constitute good alternatives for PAH monitoring in occupational air (8 h). However, PUFs must be further tested to reliably yield detectable levels of PAHs in short exposure times (1–3 h) and under extreme occupational conditions. Therefore, we compared the personal exposure monitoring performance of a passive PUF sampler with that of an active air sampler and determined the corresponding uptake rates (Rs). These rates were then used to estimate the occupational exposure of firefighters and police forensic specialists to 32 PAHs. The work environments studied were heavily contaminated by PAHs with (for example) benzo(a)pyrene ranging from 0.2 to 56 ng m−3, as measured via active sampling. We show that, even after short exposure times, PUF can reliably accumulate both gaseous and particle-bound PAHs. The Rs-values are almost independent of variables such as the concentration and the wind speed. Therefore, by using the Rs-values (2.0–20 m3 day−1), the air concentrations can be estimated within a factor of two for gaseous PAHs and a factor of 10 for particulate PAHs. With very short sampling times (1 h), our method can serve as a (i) simple and user-friendly semi-quantitative screening tool for estimating and tracking point sources of PAH in micro-environments and (ii) complement to the traditional active pumping methods.
•PUF can reliably and precisely accumulate PAHs after short exposure times (<1 h).•The PUF uptake rates (Rs) can be used to estimate the air concentrations of PAHs.•PUF works for semi-quantitative detection in high-exposure regions in workplaces.•Significant PAH contamination is revealed for the work environments considered.
The MAX IV 3 GeV storage ring is the first light source to make use of a multibend achromat lattice to reach ultralow emittance. After extensive commissioning efforts, the storage ring is now ramping ...up its user program. We present results from beam commissioning of the MAX IV 3 GeV storage ring as well as a summary of the beam dynamics studies that have so for been carried out. We report on injection and accumulation using a single dipole kicker, top-up injection, slow orbit feedback, restoring the linear optics to design, effects of in-vacuum undulators with closed gaps, adjusting nonlinear optics to achieve design chromaticity correction and dynamic aperture sufficient for high injection efficiency and large Touschek lifetime.
Increasing evidence indicates aggravation of immune-mediated diseases due to physiological and psychological stress. Noise is a stressor, however, little is known about its effects on children's ...respiratory health. This study investigates the association between pre- or postnatal road traffic or occupational noise exposure and asthma as well as related symptoms from infancy to adolescence.
The study was conducted in the Swedish birth cohort BAMSE, including over 4000 participants followed with repeated questionnaires and clinical tests until 16 years of age. Pre- and postnatal residential road traffic noise was assessed by estimating time-weighted average noise levels at the most exposed façade. Maternal occupational noise exposure during pregnancy was evaluated using a job-exposure-matrix. The associations between noise exposure and asthma-related outcomes were explored using logistic regression and generalised estimating equations.
We observed non-significant associations for asthma ever up to 16 years with residential road traffic noise exposure in infancy ≥55 dBLden (adjusted OR = 1.22; 95% CI 0.90–1.65), as well as prenatal occupational noise exposure ≥80 dBLAeq,8h (1.18, 0.85–1.62). In longitudinal analyses, however, no clear associations between pre- or postnatal exposure to residential road traffic noise, or average exposure to noise since birth, were detected in relation to asthma or wheeze until 16 years.
We did not find a clear overall association between exposure to noise during different time periods and asthma or wheeze up to adolescence.
•Evidence between respiratory health effects and environmental noise exposure is only sparsely available, particularly in children.•The present study is the first to investigate time aspects of long-term exposure to environmental noise in the context of childhood airway disease.•We found no consistent association between exposure to noise during different time periods and asthma or wheeze up to adolescence.
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