To date, the scientific literature on socioeconomic correlates and determinants of physical activity behaviours has been dispersed throughout a number of systematic reviews, often focusing on one ...factor (e.g. education or parental income) in one specific age group (e.g. pre-school children or adults). The aim of this umbrella review is to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the scientific literature from previously conducted research by summarising and synthesising the importance and strength of the evidence related to socioeconomic correlates and determinants of PA behaviours across the life course.
Medline, Embase, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus were searched for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies investigating the association between socioeconomic determinants of PA and PA itself (from January 2004 to September 2017). Data extraction evaluated the importance of determinants, strength of evidence, and methodological quality of the selected papers. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (PROSPERO2014:CRD42015010616).
Nineteen reviews were included. Moderate methodological quality emerged. For adults, convincing evidence supports a relationship between PA and socioeconomic status (SES), especially in relation to leisure time (positive relationship) and occupational PA (negative relationship). Conversely, no association between PA and SES or parental SES was found for pre-school, school-aged children and adolescents.
Available evidence on the socioeconomic determinants of PA behaviour across the life course is probable (shows fairly consistent associations) at best. While some evidence is available for adults, less was available for youth. This is mainly due to a limited quantity of primary studies, weak research designs and lack of accuracy in the PA and SES assessment methods employed. Further PA domain specific studies using longitudinal design and clear measures of SES and PA assessment are required.
Background:
Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are increasingly being used as a therapy for advanced heart failure, both as a bridge to heart transplant and, given the rapid advances in the ...LVAD’s functionality and safety, and constant lack in availability of donor organs, as long-term destination therapy. With the diffusion of such therapy, it is crucial to assess patients’ muscle strength, aerobic capacity and exercise tolerance, to improve their functional capacity.
Methods:
38 LVAD recipients (33 men and five women) were included. Exercise testing including a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), handgrip, isometric and isokinetic strength testing of knee and ankle flexion/extension, and Romberg balance test in three conditions (eyes open, eyes closed, double task). Given the small and heterogeneous final sample size, a mostly descriptive statistical approach was chosen.
Results:
12 participants were classified as “Obese” (BMI>29.9). The most common comorbidities were type II diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Only 12 participants were able to successfully complete all the assessments. CPET and isokinetic strength trials were the least tolerated tests, and the handgrip test the best tolerated. Mean VO
2
peak was 12.38 ± 3.43 ml/kg/min, with 15 participants below 50% of predicted VO
2
max, of which 6 below 30% VO
2
max. Mean handgrip strength was 30.05 ± 10.61 Kg; 25 participants were below the 25° percentile of their population’s normative reference values for handgrip strength, 10 of which were below the 5° percentile. Issues with the management of the external pack of the LVAD and its influence on the test limited the validity of the balance tests data, therefore, no solid conclusions could be drawn from them. VO
2
peak did not correlate with handgrip strength or with any of the lower limb strength measures.
Conclusion:
LVAD recipients show greatly reduced functional capacity and tolerance to exercise and exercise testing, with low overall strength levels. As strength variables appear to be independent from VO
2
peak, different lower limbs strength tests should be explored to find a tolerable alternative in this population, which is subjected to muscle wasting due to old age, reduced tissue perfusion, side effects from the pharmacological therapies, and prolonged periods of bedrest.
•Chemotherapy treatment induces in cancer patients a huge number of side effects, such as Peripheral Neuropathy.•Physical exercise is feasible for cancer patients and can counteract the limitations ...due to chemotherapy.•A specific exercise protocol produces significant improvements in cancer patients with Peripheral Neuropathy.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is the most common neurological and clinically relevant side effect of many commonly used chemotherapeutic agents. Moreover, little effort has been done to investigate the potentially beneficial effects of specific exercises to counteract the CIPN symptoms.
This document aims to summarize and analyze systematically the current body of evidence about the effects of specific exercise protocols on CIPN symptoms, balance control, physical function and quality of life in patients with CIPN.
Specific terms were identified for the literature research in MEDLINE, Scopus, Bandolier, PEDro, and Web of Science.
Five manuscripts were considered eligible for this review. Quality appraisal distinguished two studies as high quality investigations while three with low quality. Results were summarized in the following domains: “CIPN symptoms”, “Static balance control”, “Dynamic balance control”, “Quality of life and Physical function”.
Significant improvements were detected on postural control. Additionally, patients’ quality of life and independence were found ameliorated after exercise sessions. Combined exercise protocols including endurance, strength and sensorimotor training showed larger improvements.
This systematic review comes from a highly selected but small source of data. Nevertheless, specific exercise for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy with CIPN symptoms should be recommended since these interventions appeared as feasible and have been demonstrated as useful tools to counteract some of the limitations due to chemotherapy.
Nordic walking (NW) is a popular physical activity used to manage chronic diseases and maintain overall health and fitness status. This study aimed to compare NW to ordinary walking (W) with regard ...to pole length and to identify kinematic differences associated with different poles' length (55%, 65% and 75% of the subject's height, respectively). Twelve male volunteers (21.1 ± 0.7 years; 1.74 ± 0.05 m; 68.9 ± 6.1 kg) were tested in four conditions (W, NW55, NW65 and NW75) at three different speeds (4-5-6 km∗h
). Each subject performed a total of twelve tests in a random order. Three-dimensional kinematics of upper and lower body were measured for both W and NW, while oxygen consumption levels (VO
) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured only for NW trials with different poles' length. NW showed a higher step length, lower elbow motion and higher trunk motion (
< 0.05) compared to W. Additionally, NW65 did not show any kinematic or RPE differences compared to NW55 and NW75. Only NW75 showed a higher elbow joint (
< 0.05) and lower pole (
< 0.05) range of motion compared to NW55 and a higher VO
(
< 0.05) compared to NW55 and NW65 at 6 km∗h
. In conclusion, the use of the poles affects the motion of the upper and lower body during gait. Poles with shorter or longer length do not produce particular changes in NW kinematics. However, increasing the length of the pole can be a smart variation in NW to increase exercise metabolic demand without significantly affecting the kinematics and the RPE.
The aim of this meta-analysis was to aggregate data from studies investigating the risk factors associated with low back pain (LBP) in competitive gymnasts.
Four databases were searched and studies ...reporting demographics, anthropometrics, functional, psychosocial and gymnastics-practice variables in competitive gymnasts with and without LBP were included. For continuous data, the weighted mean difference (MD) and confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated, while odds or risk ratio (OR, RR) were calculated for dichotomous data.
Meta-analysis of six cross-sectional studies involving 284 competitive female gymnasts revealed that artistic were more likely to report LBP compared to rhythmic gymnasts (RR 1.4, 95% CI 1.04-2.0, Z=2.2, p=0.03). Data pooling revealed that age (MD 1.5 years, 95% CI 0.4-2.5, p=0.005) and body weight (MD 3.5 kg, 95% CI 0.1-6.8, p=0.04) were significantly higher in gymnasts with LBP compared to those without. Subgroup-analyses confirmed these differences in artistic but not in rhythmic gymnasts. Moreover, artistic gymnasts with LBP tended to display longer gymnastics-practice history (p=0.09) compared to those without.
Increased age, body weight and, to a lesser extent, longer gymnastics-practice appear to differentiate artistic gymnasts with LBP from those without; conversely, these potential risk factors seem less relevant for rhythmic gymnasts.
Purpose The aims of this study were to verify the effects on upper limb circumferences and total body extracellular water of 10 weeks of Nordic Walking (NW) and Walking (W), both alone and combined ...with a series of exercises created for breast cancer survivors, the ISA method. Subjects and Methods Twenty breast cancer survivors were randomly assigned to 4 different training groups and evaluated for upper limb circumferences, total body and extracellular water. Results The breast cancer survivors who performed NW, alone and combined with the ISA method, and Walking combined with the ISA method (but not alone) showed significantly reduced arm and forearm circumferences homolateral to the surgical intervention. Conclusion For breast cancer survivors, NW, alone and combined with the ISA method, and Walking combined with the ISA method should be prescribed to prevent the onset and to treat light forms of upper limb lymphedema because Walking training practiced alone had no significant effect on upper limb circumference reduction.
Background
Dual task influences postural control. A cognitive task seems to reduce muscle excitation during a postural balance, especially in older adults (OA).
Aim
The aim of this study is to ...evaluate the effect of three cognitive tasks on muscle excitation and static postural control in OA and young adults (YA) in an upright posture maintenance task.
Methods
31 YA and 30 OA were evaluated while performing a modified Romberg Test in five different conditions over a force plate: open eyes, closed eyes, spatial-memory brooks’ test, counting backwards aloud test and mental arithmetic task. The surface electromyographic signals of Tibialis anterior (TA), Lateral Gastrocnemius (GL), Peroneus Longus (PL), and Erector Spinae (ES) was acquired with an 8-channel surface electromyographic system. The following variables were computed for both the electromyographic analysis and the posturographic assessment: Root mean square (RMS), centre of pressure (CoP) excursion (Path) and velocity, sway area, RMS of the CoP Path and 50%, 95% of the power frequency. Mixed ANOVA was used to detect differences with group membership as factor between and type of task as within. The analysis was performed on the differences between each condition from OE.
Results
An interaction effect was found for Log (logarithmic) Sway Area. A main effect for task emerged on all posturographic variables except Log 95% frequencies and for Log PL and ES RMS. A main effect for group was never detected.
Discussion and conclusion
This study indicates a facilitating effect of mental secondary task on posturographic variables. Non-silent secondary task causes increase in ES and TA muscle activation and a worsening in static postural control performance.
Menopause is associated with adverse changes in coagulation homeostasis. We aimed to investigate the association between objectively measured sedentary behavior (SB) and SB bouts (i.e., number and ...length of SB bouts) vs. fibrinogen levels in post-menopausal women. Fifty-three post-menopausal women (age 59.8 ± 6.2 years, BMI 27.3 ± 4.4) wore a multisensory device (Sensewear Mini Armband, BodyMedia, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA) for 5 days, to measure SB and physical activity (PA). Blood samples were collected to measure serum fibrinogen. Fibrinogen was directly correlated with SB (r = -0.48,
< 0.01), lying down during awake time (r = -0.50,
< 0.01), and both medium (11-30 mins) and very long bouts (>1 h) of SB (r = -0.59,
< 0.01; r = -0.51,
< 0.01, respectively), and inversely correlated with moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity (r = -0.39,
< 0.01). Furthermore, fibrinogen was also directly correlated with BMI (r = -0.28,
< 0.05). In postmenopausal women without prevalent cardiovascular disease, the number of prolonged and uninterrupted sedentary bouts is directly correlated with increased fibrinogen levels, regardless of PA and BMI. This result suggests the importance of delivering new strategies to counteract the increase of sedentariness and inactivity of the postmenopausal population.
Sarcopenia and muscle strength reduction are a frequent disorder in non-communicable chronic diseases. The aims of this study are: (a) to verify if the absolute and relative to body weight muscle ...strength of lower limb is affected by the presence of pathology; (b) to verify if the trends are different among knee and ankles joints. One-hundred and forty-five elderly were recruited (16 liver transplant recipients, 48 kidney transplant recipients, 52 elderly with obesity, 30 healthy elderly). Muscular strength of lower limb was evaluated. Evaluation protocol included maximal isometric knee extension, maximal isokinetic knee extension and flexion, maximal isokinetic ankle (both right and left) extension and flexion. A statistically significant interaction between measurement and group membership was found for absolute strength measure (F (4.23, 170.56) = 3.316, p = 0.011, partial η2 (η2p) = 0.076), and relative strength measure(F (4.44, 174.72) = 16.407, p < 0.01, partial η2 (η2p) = 0.294). Elderly patients living with kidney transplants showed the lower level of absolute muscular strength, while relative muscular strength is mainly lacking in the elderly with obesity. The strength profile of elderly subjects is affected by obesity, liver transplantation, and kidney transplantation.
PDF
