Change In Moderate Activity Research Articles

Chronic condition discordance and physical activity among midlife and older couples.

Chronic conditions in middle and later life are associated with lower physical activity. Yet little is known about chronic condition discordance (i.e., the extent to which conditions have nonoverlapping self-management requirements) within older individuals and couples and its implications for physical activity. We determined how the degrees of chronic condition discordance at the individual level and the couple level (i.e., between spouses) were linked to moderate physical activity across an 8-year period. The U.S. sample included 1,621 couples from five waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2014). Dyadic growth curve models estimated how individual-level and couple-level chronic condition discordance were linked to initial levels of and rates of change in moderate activity. Models controlled for age, minority status, education, and own and partner reports of baseline negative marital quality, time-varying depressive symptoms, and time-varying number of chronic conditions. A considerable proportion of wives (25.4%) and husbands (18.9%) reported moderate activity less than once a week. When individuals (wives: β = -0.10; husbands: β = -0.09) or their spouses (wives: β = -0.04; husbands: β = -0.05) had greater individual-level chronic condition discordance, lower initial moderate activity was reported. When husbands had greater individual-level discordance, both wives (β = -0.16) and husbands (β = -0.19) had a faster rate of decline in moderate activity over time. Couple-level chronic condition discordance was not significantly linked to moderate activity. These findings suggest the importance of promoting physical activity among individuals and couples managing complex chronic conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Changes in physical activity measured by accelerometry following initiation of DMARD therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

The aim of this study was to assess changes in habitual physical activity levels in response to DMARD therapy in RA patients. Eighteen drug-naive RA patients were prospectively assessed at baseline and following 3 months of DMARD therapy for habitual physical activity by accelerometry, disease activity using the clinical disease activity index (CDAI) and functional disability using the modified HAQ (mHAQ). Baseline physical activity was also compared with an equal number of healthy control participants matched for age, sex and BMI. Following 3 months of DMARD therapy, in parallel with significant improvements in CDAI scores (P < 0.001) and HAQ scores (P < 0.001), accelerometry measures in the RA cohort showed that the average activity counts in sedentary thresholds decreased (P = 0.012), while average activity counts within higher-intensity thresholds increased (P = 0.039). Multiple regression analysis showed that the change in moderate activity was associated with a decrease in CRP (β = - 0.922, P = 0.026) while the decrease in sedentary activity and increase in moderate activity were associated with decreased morning stiffness of the joints (β = 0.694, P = 0.035 and β = -0.927, P = 0.024, respectively). At baseline, RA patients were less physically active than control participants in the morning (P = 0.048) and in the late afternoon (P = 0.016), but these diurnal differences were no longer significant after the DMARD intervention. These findings suggest that accelerometry may potentially be a viable objective method of assessing changes in physical disability in response to various disease-modifying drugs.

P-1389 - Intranasal insulin improves mood and reduces the HPA-axis excitability in healthy young men

Cerebral insulin has an immediate lowering effect on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to strong psychosocial stress. So far, little is known about the modulation of ACTH and cortisol values by intranasal insulin administration under conditions of absolute rest as well as moderate activity changes. To determine whether single low-dose intranasal insulin application reduces the overall HPA-axis excitability and increases mood in healthy young men. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study, 15 healthy young men (22 to 28 years old) received a single intranasal dose of 40 IU human insulin or placebo after an overnight fast. Mood as well as blood concentrations of cortisol and ACTH were measured before and after insulin administration. In comparison to placebo, intranasal insulin reduces the HPA-axis excitability (all P > 0.004) as well as levels of arousal ( P = 0.050), and increases feelings of well-being ( P = 0.038) as well as of self-confidence ( P = 0.005) as compared to placebo. Present study shows that single low-dose intranasal insulin application effectively improves mood and lowers the HPA-axis response to moderate activity changes in healthy young men. These findings have meaningful implications for humans who suffer from diseases characterized by enhanced stress axes activity such as depression and metabolic syndrome. Based on its diminishing effect on cortisol concentrations, intranasal insulin administration might represent a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent and to treat such diseases.

Factors predicting behavioral response to a physical activity intervention among adolescent females.

To determine whether individual factors influenced rates of physical activity change in response to a school-based intervention. Sedentary adolescent females (N = 63) participated in a 9-month physical activity program. Weekly levels of leisure-time physical activity were reported using an interactive website. Change in vigorous activity was more positive among participants who had higher fitness and lower friend support at baseline. Change in moderate activity was more positive among participants who had lower fitness and external barriers, and higher internal barriers at baseline. Adolescent females responded differentially to a physical activity intervention depending on individual characteristics.

Physical activity and negative emotional response after percutaneous coronary intervention

The aims of this study were to investigate the association between negative emotional response (NER) and physical activity levels in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients, and to examine the extent to which physical activity levels were influenced by factors such as the patients' age, sex, and attendance at a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme. A consecutive series of 200 PCI patients [mean age 59.0 (+/-10.1) years] completed telephone interviews 2 weeks and 6 months after their procedure. NER was assessed using 12 items addressing patients' perceptions and concerns regarding symptoms, diagnosis and prognosis. Physical activity was assessed by asking four questions relating to the frequency and duration of walking and of moderate activity. CR attendance, medical history and sociodemographic data were also collected. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the association between NER and physical activity over time. After controlling for baseline levels of moderate activity and other covariates, NER significantly predicted change in moderate activity over 6 months. Only baseline walking levels predicted the duration and frequency of walking at 6 months. NER can be considered an inhibitive factor towards increased moderate activity uptake after PCI. Walking after PCI does not appear to be affected by NER. These findings highlight the need to focus on improving the emotional aspects of patients' recovery.

Thermal sensation and thermophysiological responses to metabolic step-changes

This study investigated the effect on thermal perception and thermophysiological variables of controlled metabolic excursions of various intensities and durations. Twenty-four subjects were alternately seated on a chair or exercised by walking on a treadmill at a temperature predicted to be neutral at sedentary activity. In a second experimental series, subjects alternated between rest and exercise as well as between exercise at different intensities at two temperature levels. Measurements comprised skin and oesophageal temperatures, heart rate and subjective responses. Thermal sensation started to rise or decline immediately (within 1 min) after a change of activity, which means that even moderate activity changes of short duration affect thermal perceptions of humans. After approximately 15-20 min under constant activity, subjective thermal responses approximated the steady-state response. The sensitivity of thermal sensation to changes in core temperature was higher for activity down-steps than for up-steps. A model was proposed that estimates transient thermal sensation after metabolic step-changes. Based on predictions by the model, weighting factors were suggested to estimate a representative average metabolic rate with varying activity levels, e.g. for the prediction of thermal sensation by steady-state comfort models. The activity during the most recent 5 min should be weighted 65%, during the prior 10-5 min 25% and during the prior 20-10 min 10%.

Annual cycle of activity in the nucleus tuberis hypothalami and the pars tuberalis of the hypophysis in the frogRana esculenta

Abstract A very distinct annual cycle of activity, as judged from nuclear volume changes, has been found in glandular cells of the pars tuberalis of the hypophysis and neurons in the nucleus tuberis hypothalami of adult green frogs (Rana esculenta). The changes are very similar at both sites, a single maximum in April and a single minimum in September being observed. Ependymal tanycy tes of the region which was investigated showed only very moderate activity changes. No sex differences were found with regard to the character of the cycle and the amplitude of changes. Only quantitative differences in absolute nuclear volume were found between the two sexes.