The aim of the present study was to determine the associations between the severity of the menopausal symptoms and postural balance and functional mobility in middle-aged postmenopausal women. A ...cross-sectional study was performed (171 participants, 57.18 ± 4.68 years). Severity of the menopausal symptoms (on the Menopause Rating Scale), postural balance (stabilometric platform) with eyes open and closed, and functional mobility (timed up and go test) were determined. A multivariate linear regression was performed, with body mass index, waist to hip ratio, age and fall history as possible confounders. Our findings showed that a greater severity of the menopausal symptoms at a psychological level was associated, under both eyes open and closed conditions, with worse postural control assessed by the length of the stabilogram (adjusted R
= 0.093 and 0.91, respectively), the anteroposterior center of pressure displacements (adjusted R
= 0.051 and 0.031, respectively) and the center of pressure velocity (adjusted R
= 0.065 for both conditions). Older age was related to greater mediolateral displacements of the center of pressure with eyes open and closed (adjusted R
= 0.45 and 0.58, respectively). There were no associations between the menopausal symptoms' severity and functional mobility. We can conclude that a greater severity of psychological menopausal symptoms was independently associated with worse postural balance in middle-aged postmenopausal women.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, psychological disorders have been documented in the population, and their exacerbation in vulnerable populations such as those with Cardiometabolic Diseases (CD) might ...challenge health systems. This study determined psychological factors associated with CD in Colombian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, 284 persons were evaluated, 142 without CD and 142 with CD. Sociodemographic data were collected, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the SF-12v2, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), which were integrated into an online form, were used. Through a simple and multiple logistic regression model, it was shown that CD was associated with low sleeping quality (LSQ) (OR = 3.51) and with depressive symptoms (DS) (OR = 1.98). In addition, in the group with CD, the presence of DS was related to BMI (OR = 2.45), and LSQ was related to living with persons at risk for COVID-19 (OR = 3.64) and BMI (OR = 5.88). In conclusion, this study showed that people with CD have a higher chance of presenting DS and LSQ. Furthermore, living with people at risk for COVID-19 was related to the presence of LSQ.
•Menopause is linked with poor sleep quality, increased mood disorders and fatigue.•We studied the beneficial effects of Pilates exercises in postmenopausal women.•Pilates exercises improved sleep ...quality and reduced fatigue.•Significant reductions in anxiety and depression were found after Pilates training.
To analyze the effects that a Pilates-based exercise program has on sleep quality, anxiety, depression and fatigue in community-dwelling Spanish postmenopausal women aged 60 and over.
A total of 110 women (69.15 ± 8.94 years) participated in this randomized controlled trial. They were randomly allocated to either a control (n = 55) or a Pilates (n = 55) group.
Sleep quality and self-perceived fatigue were assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Fatigue Severity Scale, respectively. Anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
Significant improvements were observed after Pilates training in all PSQI domains as well as in the PSQI total score, with small to medium-size effects, while significant between-group differences in post-intervention measures were observed only for sleep duration (d = 0.69) and sleep disturbances (d = 0.78). Moreover, intra- and inter-group statistical differences were observed for depression (d = 0.39 and d = 0.86, respectively) and for anxiety (d = 0.43 and d = 1.27 respectively). Finally, participants in the Pilates group experienced a decrease in self-perceived fatigue after the intervention period (d = 0.32).
For community-dwelling Spanish postmenopausal women aged 60 years and over, a twelve-week Pilates exercise intervention has beneficial effects on sleep quality, anxiety, depression and fatigue.
Despite growing interest in high-intensity interval training as a time-effective way for older adults to improve their health, there is little consensus regarding the better way to plan a HIIT ...intervention. Given the loss of function and health problems of an older adult population, the identification and characterization of interventions and strategies is a fundamental prerequisite. The goals of this review are examining high-intensity interval training as a way to improve health, and finding out the highestintensity viable HIIT protocol. Studies were included in this systematic review if: (1) they studied a population of older adults; (2) prescribed an intervention that can be described as high intensity; and (3) reported health-related outcome measures. The resulting 14 papers were included in our study. The present review found that high-intensity interval training is an effective tool to improve indicators of body composition as well as cardiometabolic and cardiovascular health, with 90-95% HRmax cycle ergometer sessions held two-three times a week, with a minimum session length of 40 minutes, in an intervention at least 12-week long, effecting significant improvements on the health of participants. Recommendations regarding optimal exercise duration and rest intervals must remain ambiguous given the scarcity of published literature and the methodology and limitations of those studies that are already available
•Sarcopenia and obesity are interlinked in older people.•In this study, exercise alone and exercise combined with dietary supplements were both shown to reduce total fat mass.•Both exercise alone and ...exercise combined with dietary supplements increased appendicular skeletal muscle mass, grip strength and gait speed.
To evaluate the effect of exercise (EXE) alone or exercise combined with dietary supplements (EXE-SUPPL) on body composition and physical performance in subjects 60 years and older with sarcopenic obesity.
A systematic review was carried out of studies identified through five search engines up to April 15, 2018. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating EXE or EXE-SUPPL in elderly individuals with sarcopenic obesity for at least six weeks. Primary outcomes were percentage of body fat mass, appendicular skeletal muscle mass, and hand grip strength. Random effects meta-analyses with the inverse variance method were used to evaluate the effects of interventions on outcomes. Effects were expressed as mean differences (MD) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane tool.
Nine papers reporting seven RCTs (with a total of 558 participants) were included in the review. EXE alone and EXE-SUPPL increased grip strength (MD 1.30 kg; 95% CI 0.58–2.01), gait speed (MD 0.05 m/s; 95% CI 0.03–0.07) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (MD 0.40 kg; 95% CI 0.18–0.63). EXE alone and EXE-SUPPL reduced waist circumference (MD −1,40 cm; 95% CI −1.99 to −0.81), total fat mass (MD −1,77 kg; 95% CI −2.49 to −1.04), and trunk fat mass (MD −0.82 kg; 95% CI −1.22 to −0.42).
EXE alone and EXE-SUPPL improved muscle-related outcomes and reduced fat-related outcomes in subjects with sarcopenic obesity. There is a need for better-designed RCTs with systematic assessment of both different exercise regimes and dietary supplements in sarcopenic obese subjects.
The aim of the study is to analyze the reliability and validity of the Portuguese version of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) among postmenopausal Portuguese women.
A total of 184 postmenopausal ...women completed the Portuguese MRS. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were studied. Construct, convergent, and concurrent validity were assessed. The 10-item Cervantes Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to determine convergent and concurrent validity, respectively. The ability and accuracy of the Portuguese MRS to discriminate between women with and without anxiety and depression cases were evaluated, and a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used.
The Portuguese MRS showed an appropriate level of internal consistency (Cronbach α, 0.84 for MRS total score) and test-retest reliability (MRS total score; intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.96). Factor analysis (construct validity) revealed a 3-factor structure (explained variance of 62.08%). The MRS total score and its 3 factors showed good convergent (10-item Cervantes Scale) and concurrent (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety and depression) validity (all P < 0.001). The Portuguese MRS total score was significantly able to discriminate between postmenopausal women with and without anxiety (P < 0.001) and depression (P = 0.001), with a cutoff point of 15.50 (80.00% sensitivity and 63.70% specificity) for detecting depression and a cutoff point of 16.50 (82.35% sensitivity and 78.57% specificity) for identifying anxiety.
The Portuguese MRS has been shown to be a valid and reliable questionnaire for assessing the severity of menopausal symptoms and discriminating among postmenopausal women with and without anxiety and depression.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is recognized as a common condition, characterized by widespread pain and associated with sleep disturbances and poor-quality sleep. The Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire Index (PSQI) ...is one of the most recommended instruments to measure sleep quality and sleep disorders. The purpose of our study was to translate the questionnaire into Spanish and to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the PSQI. A total of 138 women with FM belonging to a FM association (AFIXA, Andalusia, Spain) completed the study. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were analyzed. Factorial analysis was performed for the PSQI components. Convergent validity of the PSQI was evaluated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient with the Spanish versions of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the health survey short form-36 (SF-36). In our analysis, the Spanish version of the PSQI has shown a good internal consistency of the total score, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.805, and an acceptable test–retest reliability, with a Spearman’s correlation coefficient of 0.773 (
p
< 0.001), for the total score. A two-factor structure was generated by exploratory factor analysis, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.866 for factor 1 and of 0.712 for factor 2. In convergent validity analysis, the PSQI total score showed a significant correlation (
p
< 0.01) with the FIQ total score and with the mental and physical health summaries scores of the SF-36. Our results show that the Spanish version of the PSQI provides a reliable instrument, with a good convergent validity for measuring sleep quality among Spanish FM patients.
Objective: In order to identify a reliable marker for the early detection of muscle injuries in sports, α-actin protein and other markers of muscle damage were studied in sera of uninjured ...sportspeople and those with skeletal muscle injury. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 20 sportspeople with skeletal muscle injury and 48 uninjured sportspeople. Immunoassays were performed to determine cardiac troponin I (TnI), troponin T, lactate dehydrogenase and myoglobin concentrations. Western blot and densitometry were used to measure α-actin concentrations. Skeletal muscle damage was diagnosed according to physical examination, MRI findings and the biochemical criterion of a creatine kinase value >500 IU/l (Rosalki method, Beckman Instruments SL, Fullerton, California, USA). Results were also compared with previously obtained data on injured and uninjured non-sportspeople. Results: The mean serum concentration of α-actin was significantly higher in sportspeople with muscle damage (10.49 μg/ml) than in uninjured sportspeople (3.99 μg/ml). Sera from injured sportspeople showed higher levels of α-actin than of troponin or myoglobin. No significant difference in TnI levels was observed between the groups. Conclusions: According to these results, α-actin is a new and reliable marker of skeletal muscle damage in sportspeople which can be used for the detection of muscle injury. Possible cross interference between skeletal and cardiac muscle damage can be discriminated by the combined use of α-actin and TnI. These data suggest that early measurement of α-actin in sportspeople with suspected muscle damage will allow them to receive earlier and more effective treatment and to return sooner to the practice of their sport.
•We investigated the effects of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on oral bacteria.•The saliva samples of 39 participants with an average age of 64.8 years ...were sequenced.•Moderate-intensity continuous training decreased Firmicutes and increased Bacteroidetes.•Differences were found in the Richness, Simpson and Shannon diversity indices.•Differences in the abundance of pathogenic species were observed.
We investigates the effects of 16-week high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on the composition of the oral microbiota. To the best of our knowledge, at the time of writing this paper no other scholars had described the oral metagenomic changes associated with prescribed exercise in older adults.
Forty-three participants aged 60–74 years were randomized 1:1:1 to a control group, high-intensity interval training or moderate-intensity continuous training twice weekly for 16 weeks. Saliva samples were sequenced at baseline, week 8 and week 16 of intervention.
High-intensity interval training produced significant differences over time in Richness and a clear trend to decreased Simpson and Shannon diversity indices. In contrast, Simpson and Shannon indices showed an upward trend over time with moderate-intensity continuous training, which also decreased Firmicutes and increased Bacteroidetes levels. Significant differences in the abundance of pathogenic species were also observed after the participants completed the exercise interventions of either type.
Both types of exercise promoted subtle changes in the oral microbiota, confirming the modulatory effect of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on the oral microbiome.
Clinical trial registration NCT05220670.
PDF
