Changes In Physical Capability Research Articles

Changes in objectively-measured physical capability over 4-year, risk of diabetes, and glycemic control in older adults: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal study

AimsHigh physical capability reduces risk of diabetes, but the association of its changes with risk of diabetes and glycemic control is unclear in older adults. This study aimed to quantify their association. MethodsA total of 1,667 participants without diabetes and aged ≥ 60 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included and followed over 4 years. Physical capability was objectively measured at baseline and 4-year later. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association of changes in physical capability with risk of diabetes. ResultsDuring follow-up, 160 participants developed diabetes. None of the changes in physical capability expressed in continuous scales or in tertiles was associated with risk of diabetes in unadjusted or adjusted models (all P > 0.05), and no favorable joint effects were observed. Changes in physical capability were not associated with changes in fasting plasma glucose or hemoglobin A1c. Yet increases in walking speed or grip strength were related to reduced metabolic score for insulin resistance (both P ≤ 0.03). ConclusionsIncreases in objectively-measured physical capability were not associated with reduced risk of diabetes but may ameliorate insulin resistance in older adults. Studies with longer follow-up periods are required to confirm these findings.

Lower socioeconomic status and the acceleration of aging: An outcome-wide analysis

Aging involves decline in a range of functional abilities and phenotypes, many of which are also associated with socioeconomic status (SES). Here we assessed whether lower SES is a determinant of the rate of decline over 8 y in six domains-physical capability, sensory function, physiological function, cognitive performance, emotional well-being, and social function-in a sample of 5,018 men and women aged 64.44 (SD 8.49) y on average at baseline. Wealth was used as the marker of SES, and all analyses controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment, and long-term health conditions. Lower SES was associated with greater adverse changes in physical capability (grip strength, gait speed, and physical activity), sensory function (sight impairment), physiological function (plasma fibrinogen concentration and lung function), cognitive performance (memory, executive function, and processing speed), emotional well-being (enjoyment of life and depressive symptoms), and social function (organizational membership, number of close friends, volunteering, and cultural engagement). Effects were maintained when controlling statistically for other factors such as smoking, marital/partnership status, and self-rated health and were also present when analyses were limited to participants aged ≤75 y. We conclude that lower SES is related to accelerated aging across a broad range of functional abilities and phenotypes independently of the presence of health conditions and that social circumstances impinge on multiple aspects of aging.

The Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Deep Breathing as Effective Procedures in Reducing the Stress Levels on Older People

<p><em>The world population and proportion of elderly people at present are increasing. The increasing population of the elderly people needs special attention because elderly people included in the group of a population at risk. A population at risk is the group with certain characteristics that able to generate health issues. The changes in physical capability are able to influence the entire body’s functions and capabilities. One of the occurring changes is the aging process embodied as psychosocial changes. The psychosocial changes also able to induce a stress in elderly people. One of the complementary and alternative nursing management is through the therapies of a progressive muscle relaxation and a deep breathing. Progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing do not cause side effects, do not require additional cost, and can be performed individually as well as do not require routine training from the instructor, able to reduce the heart rate and able to relax the body. These interventions can be done by nurses or caregivers in service institutions or nursing home which performed in accordance with the determined SOP (Standard Operational Procedure). This research is aimed to determine the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing to reduce the stress on elderly people in the Hanna Nursing Home Yogyakarta. There were 40 elderly people who live in Hanna Nursing Home involved in this study. This research method was a Quasi Experimental design with pre and post test without control group design. The sample tehcnique in this study was quota sampling which considers either inclusive or exclusive criteria. The instrument of the study was DASS instrument to measure the stress levels of elderly people. The measurement results of the stress function of elderly people through the utilization of DASS show that there was a decline of mean value in about 4.4 points. From the paired t-test, 0.000 p-values were acquired. The results of the bivariate test by using the DASS instrument showed that the interventions of progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing in reducing the stress of elderly people in Hanna Nursing Home Yogyakarta were effective. </em><em></em></p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>:<em> the progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, stress, elderly people</em></p>

Changes in Physical Capability of 6 and 7 Year Old Students after Applying the Game Approach

Changes in Physical Capability of 6 and 7 Year Old Students after Applying the Game Approach

Are objective measures of physical capability related to accelerated epigenetic age? Findings from a British birth cohort

ObjectivesOur aim was to investigate the association of epigenetic age and physical capability in later life. Having a higher epigenetic than chronological age (known as age acceleration (AA)) has been...

Childhood Cognitive Ability and Age-Related Changes in Physical Capability From Midlife: Findings From a British Birth Cohort Study.

The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that higher childhood cognitive ability is associated with reduced risk of decline in physical capability in late midlife. Participants were 1954 men and women from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development with complete data on cognitive ability at age of 15 years and measures of grip strength and chair rise speed at ages of 53 and 60 to 64 years. Using multinomial logistic regression, associations of childhood cognitive ability with categories of change in grip strength and chair rise speed (i.e., decline, stable high, stable low, reference) were investigated. Adjustments were made for potential confounders from early life and adult mediators including health behaviors, educational level, and cognitive ability at age of 53 years. Higher childhood cognitive scores were associated with reduced risks of decline in grip strength and chair rise speed, for example, the sex-adjusted relative-risk ratio of decline (versus reference) in grip strength per 1SD increase in childhood cognitive score was 0.82 (95% confidence interval = 0.73-0.92). Higher childhood cognitive scores were also associated with reduced risk of stable low and increased likelihood of stable high chair rise speed. These findings suggest that childhood cognitive ability may be related to decline in physical capability in late midlife. A number of life course pathways are implicated, including those linking childhood and adult cognitive ability. Future research aiming to identify new opportunities to prevent or minimize age-related declines in physical capability may benefit from considering the potential role of neurodevelopmental as well as neurodegenerative pathways.

A survey to determine usual care after cancer treatment within the United Kingdom national health service

BackgroundApproximately one third of cancer survivors in the United Kingdom face ongoing and debilitating psychological and physical symptoms related to poor quality of life. Very little is known about current post-cancer treatment services.MethodsOncology healthcare professionals (HCPs) were invited to take part in a survey, which gathered both quantitative and free text data about the content and delivery of cancer aftercare and patient needs. Analysis involved descriptive statistics and content analysis.ResultsThere were 163 complete responses from 278 survey participants; 70% of NHS acute trusts provided data. HCPs views on patient post-cancer treatment needs were most frequently: fear of recurrence (95%), fatigue (94%), changes in physical capabilities (89%), anxiety (89%) and depression (88%). A median number of 2 aftercare sessions were provided (interquartile range: 1,4) lasting between 30 and 60 min. Usually these were provided face-to-face and intermittently by a HCP. However, sessions did not necessarily address the issues HCPs asserted as important. Themes from free-text responses highlighted inconsistencies in care, uncertain funding for services and omission of some evidence based approaches.ConclusionProvision of post-cancer treatment follow-up care is neither universal nor consistent in the NHS, nor does it address needs HCPs identified as most important.

Associations of behavioural risk factors and health status with changes in physical capability over 10 years of follow-up: the MRC National Survey of Health and Development

Objectives(1) To describe changes in objective measures of physical capability between ages 53 and 60–64 years; (2) to investigate the associations of behavioural risk factors (obesity, physical inactivity, smoking) and...

Correlation of health-related quality of life after surgery for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with two seizure outcome scales

Purpose The objective of this study was to correlate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after surgery for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, as revealed by a postoperative screening tool, to different modalities of seizure outcome classification (Engel, International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)). Method One hundred twenty-eight of one hundred forty consecutive patients returned a HRQOL questionnaire at a mean of 36 months after selective amygdalohippocampectomy. Patients answered in two ways: with an absolute estimation (values 1–4) and with a self-rated relative change (−1, 0, +1) after surgery. Results Eighty patients were seizure- and aura-free (63.3% ILAE 1), 16 continued to have auras (12.5% ILAE 2), and 13 experienced 1–3 seizure days per year after surgery (10.2% ILAE 3). Ninety-two patients were classified seizure-free (71.9% Engel I), and 17 had two or fewer seizures per year (13.3% Engel II). Of 110 patients in ILAE 1–3, 100 (91%) stated good or even very good postoperative HRQOL, and 99 (90.0%) reported improvements in HRQOL. Only 9 of the remaining 18 (50%) reported good or very good HRQOL after surgery ( P = 0.01). Corresponding results were obtained with Engel classes I and II, suggesting a trend toward ILAE 1–3 and Engel I and II as overall satisfactory outcomes. A more detailed HRQOL assessment yielded lowest scores in the cognitive domain, and a significant correlation of self-rated changes in cognitive functioning with seizure control ( P = 0.01). Changes in physical capabilities and mood were significantly better with satisfactory seizure outcome ( P = 0.006 and P < 0.001, respectively), whereas the social aspects were not significantly dependent on seizure outcome ( P = 0.06). Conclusion Correlation of HRQOL and seizure control suggested that ILAE 1–3 and Engel I and II most likely represent overall satisfactory outcome. Subdomain analyses revealed cognitive abilities as the most critical feature associated with seizure control, whereas social aspects remained mainly stable.

Impact of Natural Gas Infrastructure on Electric Power Systems

The restructuring of electricity has introduced new risks associated with the security of natural gas infrastructure on a significantly large scale, which entails changes in physical capabilities of pipelines, operational procedures, sensors and communications, contracting (supply and transportation), and tariffs. This paper will discuss the essence of the natural gas infrastructure for supplying the ever-increasing number of gas-powered units and use security-constrained unit commitment to analyze the short-time impact of natural gas prices on power generation scheduling. The paper analyzes the impact of natural gas infrastructure contingencies on the operation of electric power systems. Furthermore, the paper examines the impact of renewable sources of energy such as pumped-storage units and photovoltaic/battery systems on power system security by reducing the dependence of electricity infrastructure on the natural gas infrastructure. A modified IEEE 118-bus with 12 combined-cycle units is presented for analyzing the gas/electric interdependency.

Acupuncture as a complementary therapy to the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: randomised controlled trial

Objectives To analyse the efficacy of acupuncture as a complementary therapy to the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, with respect to pain relief, reduction of stiffness, and increased...

Work-related beliefs about injury and physical capability for work in individuals with chronic pain

According to a fear-avoidance model of chronic pain, disability is largely determined by the erroneous belief that an increase in activity level is potentially harmful. Further, recent literature suggests that excessive fears regarding physical activities contribute to significant disability. However, the relation of changes in these fears to functional work capabilities has gone largely uninvestigated. The present study examined how changes in physical capability for work were related to changes in pain severity and fear-avoidance beliefs for general physical and work-specific activities, as well as investigating whether an interdisciplinary treatment program for chronic pain was associated with changes in these specific fears in 65 individuals with chronic pain. Results revealed that significant decreases in fear and pain levels occurred from pre- to post-treatment, in addition to increases in physical capability for work. Further, changes in work-specific fears were more important than changes in pain severity and fear of physical activity in predicting improved physical capability for work. These results expand previous research, which has found a relation between self-reported disability and fear-avoidance beliefs, by demonstrating the relation with fear of work to actual work-related behaviors.