Physical Activity Questions Research Articles

Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns after early-onset colorectal cancer diagnosis.

74 Background: Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity are established risk factors for colorectal cancer diagnosed among adults younger than age 50 years (early-onset CRC). However, patterns of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in patients after an early-onset CRC diagnosis are less understood. Methods: The Reproductive Health After Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment (REACT) Study is a patient-partnered, cross-sectional study in cooperation with 23 community partners and patient advocates that recruited adults with a first primary cancer (diagnosis age: 18-49 years) over an 8-week period (October to December 2021). Patient-reported sociodemographic, cancer and cancer impact, PA and SB questions were prospectively collected via questionnaire. Frequency, duration and intensity of leisure-time, work-related and transportation-related PA were summed as minutes per week (min/wk). Time spent on SB was calculated by hours spent sitting on a typical day. Diagnosis age- and year-adjusted Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated between PA and SB by cancer treatment status. Results: A total of 131 patients were diagnosed with a first primary early-onset CRC between 2016 and 2021 (median [IQR] age, 40.0 [35-45] years; 82.4% female) in REACT. One hundred thirteen patients (86.3%) were concerned about their physical fitness or getting enough exercise after cancer diagnosis—of whom 62.8% (n=71 of 113) were somewhat or very concerned about their physical fitness/exercise. Among 80 patients with early-onset CRC and complete PA/SB data (86.3% female), 28.8% were not adherent to PA guidelines for aerobic activity (≥150 min/wk) and 56.3% reported long sedentary time (>6 hr/day). The proportion of patients across PA/SB groups also statistically significantly differed by treatment status among those diagnosed between 2019 and 2021 (p=0.049), but not between 2016 and 2018 (p=0.25). While PA was not significantly correlated with SB for early-onset CRC patients who were not actively undergoing treatment (r=-0.16, p =0.32), there was a statistically significant moderate inverse correlation between PA with SB among early-onset CRC patients under active cancer treatment (r=-0.58, p =0.004). Conclusions: One in every 2 early-onset CRC patients reported long sedentary time and one in every 4 early-onset CRC patients in this study did not meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. With over 80% of patients expressing concern about their physical activity and exercise after an early-onset CRC diagnosis, and differences in PA/SB patterns observed by treatment status, these findings warrant prospective, longitudinal studies of objectively-measured PA and SB among young patients in order to support tailored strategies (e.g., exercise prescriptions) that improve patient health and outcomes across the CRC continuum.

Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Canadians Living With and Without Cardiovascular Disease.

Our aim in this study was to describe and compare the proportion of adult Canadians living with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD) and meeting the physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) recommendations of the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines using accelerometer and self-reported measures. Using adult (18-79 years of age) accelerometer data (Actical, worn during waking hours for 7 consecutive days) as well as chronic condition, sociodemographic, recreational screen time, and PA questions from 3 combined cycles of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, we compared the PA, SB, and CVD risk factors of adults living with and without CVD. A total of 7035 Canadian adults who reported living with (n= 363) and without (n= 6672) CVD were included. Few adults living with CVD were meeting the PA (29%) and SB (15%) recommendations. CVD status was not significantly associated with the likelihood of meeting the PA or screen time recommendations, but adults living with CVD had a lower likelihood of meeting the sedentary time recommendation when compared with adults without CVD (adjusted odds ratio= 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.82). Adults, primarily men, living with rather than without CVD engaged in less light- and moderate-intensity PA. The PA and SB of Canadian adults living with and without CVD are significantly different. Adults living with CVD had a lower likelihood of meeting the sedentary time recommendation, and adults living with CVD, primarily men, engaged in less light- and moderate-intensity PA. The identification of these movement behaviour targets may assist in allocating resources to sedentary individuals with the greatest need of PA.

Perception of musculoskeletal discomfort in university professors in a pandemic context: A cross-sectional pilot study

Background Studies show contradictory results on telework and MSDs, recommending investigating ergonomic factors and considering mental workload and inactivity. Objective To analyze the predictive association of mental workload, postural overload, and physical inactivity on the presence of MSDs in university professors in a pandemic context. Methods A pilot cross-sectional study. An online self-administered questionnaire was used with the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) to assess MSDs, the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) for mental workload, The Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA) to quantify ergonomic risks, and a physical activity question. The data obtained were analyzed by descriptive statistics and the association between the independent and dependent variables by Chi-square and logistic regression with an α = 0.05. Results Fifty-one university professors (58.8% female) participated. The frequency of MSDs was 82.3% and was most common in the neck region (62.7%). Significant associations of mental workload, postural overload, and physical inactivity on MSDs were found. Multiple predictive associations were observed between MSDs in the wrists and hands, chair postural overload, and physical inactivity (OR = 11.84 and OR = 15.38, respectively) while considering confounding variables such as gender, age, and BMI. In addition, MSDs in the upper back were observed with chair and mouse-keyboard postural overload (OR = 5.60 and OR = 7.59, respectively). Conclusions Predictive associations exist between mental workload, postural overload, physical inactivity, and MSDs. In the post-COVID era, teleworking has become essential in universities, and it is crucial to plan for it to prevent the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.

Exploring the reasons for wanting a peer partner to be physically active among women living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis: a content analysis.

Initiating and maintaining exercise is challenging for women during and post-cancer treatment. Adopting a peer partner model to provide social support to be active may contribute to lasting behaviour change of both partners. Despite this, finding a "like peer" can be challenging. To explore women's reasons for seeking an online exercise partner following a diagnosis with cancer (through www.activematch.ca ). We also examined women's potential sociodemographic and cancer-related differences by reported reasons for wanting an exercise partner. Individuals creating an ActiveMatch profile completed demographic and physical activity questions (N = 199, Mage(SD) = 51.9(10.8) years), including an open-ended question regarding their "reason for wanting an exercise partner". An inductive content analysis was completed focusing on the participants' peer exercise partner preferences. Additional chi-square tests were run to assess whether participants differed based on sociodemographic and cancer-related characteristics and their motivations to be active by category of "reason for wanting an exercise partner" endorsed in the open-ended question. The participants' reasons for wanting an exercise partner were coded into seven categories, with most participants highlighting the reasons of motivation (52.3%), social support (48.7%), and accountability and adherence (26.6%). Women < 50years of age were more likely to report accountability and adherence-related preferences for a partner. Those reporting endorsing weight loss as their primary reason for becoming active were more likely to be categorized as wanting a peer partner for motivation. While finding a peer partner can be challenging, matching women living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis based on their reason for wanting an exercise partner, as well as their reasons for wanting to be active, may be important to build successful peer exercise partnerships.

Barriers to physical activity participation for adults with intellectual disability: A cross-sectional study.

Identifying barriers that can be modified to promote physical activity is important for informing health interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities. Exploring participation in physical activity considering age, sex, living conditions, and health conditions. Further, identifying barriers significantly associated with sedentary activity after adjustment for physical activity correlates. A cross-sectional study including physical activity and barrier questions from the POMONA-15 health indicators. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with sedentary activity level as dependent variable. Among 213 participants with intellectual disabilities, 36% reported predominately sedentary activities, 53% light and 11% moderate/vigorous physical activity. Barriers related to sedentary activity after adjustment were transportation, health conditions, mobility impairment, and lack of activities at the day activity centre. The findings highlight the need to enhance physical activity opportunities at day activity centres, tailor programmes for wheelchair users, and improve access to physical activity facilities for adults with intellectual disabilities.

The Impact of Removing the 10-Minute Bout Requirement and of Different Survey Administration Methods on National Physical Activity Estimates in Austria.

Monitoring survey methods, as well as movement recommendations, evolves over time. These changes can make trend observations over time difficult. The aim of this study was to examine the differences between 2 computer-assisted survey administration methods and the effect of the omission of the 10-minute minimum bout requirement in physical activity (PA) questions on PA outcomes. We used data from the second Austrian PA Surveillance System for 2998 adults (18-64y), applying computer-assisted personal interviewing and computer-assisted web interviewing. Within the computer-assisted web interviewing sample only, we added PA questions without the 10-minute requirement. Quantile and logistic regressions were applied. Between computer-assisted web interviewing and computer-assisted personal interviewing, within the computer-assisted personal interviewing sample, we found lower PA estimates in the leisure domain and work and household domain, but not in the travel domain, and no significant difference in the proportion of people meeting the PA recommendations. In all 3 PA domains, the median minutes did not differ when assessed with or without the 10-minute requirement. However, the percentage participation in the travel domain and work and household domain performing >0minutes per week PA was higher when there was no 10-minute requirement. The proportion of people meeting the Austrian aerobic recommendation for adults when computed with or without the 10-minute requirement did not differ. Our findings suggest that the omission of the 10-minute requirement does not seem to result in marked differences in PA estimates or the proportion of adults meeting the recommendations.

Age and physical activity status of Australian volunteer firefighters: a cross-sectional study

Background There have been concerns of an aging Australian volunteer firefighter workforce. Aims To (1) determine the age distribution of Australian volunteer firefighters; (2) estimate the proportion of volunteer firefighters who met the Australian physical activity guidelines; (3) investigate the relationship between age and physical activity and exercise in volunteer firefighters. Methods An online survey was electronically distributed to Rural Fire Service volunteers in Queensland, Australia. The survey included demographic and physical activity questions. National guidelines were used to determine whether respondents met the Australian physical activity recommendations. The relationships between age and weekly physical activity and weekly exercise minutes were modelled using Bayesian methods. Key results The median age of responders (n = 480) was 54 years. Compared with Australian population data, volunteer firefighters were four times more likely to meet the physical activity guidelines and the exercise-only guidelines, but 1.4 times more likely to not meet the strength-based activity guidelines. Number of weekly physical activity minutes declined with age, by 61 min each decade. Conclusions Volunteers were more likely to meet the national physical activity and exercise-only guidelines, but less likely to meet the strength-based activity guidelines. Implications Volunteer firefighters could benefit from outreach programs that promote participation in strength-based training.

Association of Socio-Demographic Factors, Social Determinants of Health, and Weekly Physical Activity in an Urban Hospital in Northwest Indiana

Background: Engaging in regular physical activity has been proven to have beneficial health effects such as preventing chronic diseases and improving mental health. Recent studies have demonstrated correlations between socio-demographic factors and physical activity levels. This study determined the associations between socio-demographic factors, social determinants of health and the amount of weekly physical activity in patients occupying an urban underserved area. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed a dataset generated by St. Mary Medical Center from EPIC™ with demographic characteristics and physical activity levels partitioned by time per week for adult inpatient visits from January 2021 to March 2023. Patients were stratified into physical activity levels based upon published guidelines: inactive (no physical activity), insufficiently active (&lt;150 minutes per week) or sufficiently active (≥150 minutes per week). Data analysis was conducted in SPSS 28.0 using tests of association including Kruskal Wallis H and multivariate ordinal regression model. This study was exempted by Indiana University Human Research Protection Program (IRB # 14040). Results: The sample of individuals from the dataset who answered physical activity questions was comprised of 1498 patients. There was a statistically significant difference in physical activity level by age group (p&lt;0.001), sex (p&lt;0.05), insurance category (p&lt;0.001), and social connections risk score (p&lt;0.001); with race (p=0.057) and language (p=0.054) approaching significance. Multivariate analysis showed that age was the only significant factor when accounting for all variables, with higher age groups reporting lower proportions of physically active individuals. Conclusion: Determining how socio-demographic factors influence physical activity levels will direct efforts to form and implement new interventions in the Northwest Indiana urban area and support community health initiatives. This data makes it possible to inform practitioners of the demographics that are at risk of being insufficiently active and having them direct those patients to programs in place to help bridge the lapse.

Perceived Religious Influence on Health Is Associated with Beneficial Health Behaviors in Members of Predominantly Black Churches.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and Black populations are disproportionately affected. Black populations also have high rates of religiosity, which may be an important health motivator, but mechanisms are unclear. We examined the relationship between perceived religious influence on health and cardiovascular health behaviors, risk factors, and confidence participating in medical care in Black church congregants. We surveyed 302 members of 13 churches with predominantly Black congregations in New Orleans, Louisiana. Participants reported if religious beliefs had an influence on their health and if they avoided harmful behaviors because of religion. Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, smoking status, confidence asking questions to health care providers, understanding treatment plans and self-reported hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes were assessed. Logistic regression was used adjusting for age, sex, and education. Survey respondents were 77% female with a median age of 66 years, and 72%, 56%, and 37% reported hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes, respectively. Perceived religious influence on health was positively associated with fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and confidence asking questions to health care providers. Avoiding harmful behaviors because of religion was positively associated with physical activity. There was no association between perceived religious influence on health and smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or diabetes. Perceived religious influence on health was associated with beneficial cardiovascular health behaviors and confidence participating in medical care. These findings can inform the design and delivery of interventions to reduce cardiovascular disease among Black religious communities.

Changes in Health-Related Quality of Life, Pain and Functional Parameters in People with Hemophilia and People with Osteoarthritis - a Comparative Follow-up of Physiotherapeutic Training (Physio-FUN Study)

Background: Spontaneous joint bleeding is common in people with hemophilia (PWH). These bleeds lead to reduced physical activity and thus to a weakening of the musculature. Common sequelae of this are synovitis and cartilage damage. In the long term, secondary osteoarthritis, so-called hemophilic arthropathy, occurs with changes and progressive destruction of joint structures (Lafeber et al., 2008). Hemophilic arthropathy is age-independent and can lead to severe movement restrictions and significant limitations in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of affected PWH (Varaklioti et al., 2018). To prevent advanced stages of arthropathy not only regular assessment of musculoskeletal status and early detection of symptoms, but also daily rehabilitation exercises at home, and implementation of appropriate physiotherapy and medical training are important (Bossard et al., 2008). Home exercises and manual therapy can be used without causing bleeding or pain to improve pain, HRQoL and functionality (Tat et al., 2021). The primary aim of the Physio-FUN study was to assess the subjective (Hemophilia Exercise Project Test-Questionnaire [HEP-Test-Q]) and objective physical functioning (Hemophilia Joint Health Score [HJHS]) during the course of 1-year applied physiotherapy comparing PWH with arthropathy and patients with osteoarthritis (PWO). Methods: In this prospevtive, controlled monocentric cohort study it was planned to enroll 20 adult PWH A or B compared to 20 gender-matched adult PWO without a bleeding disorder. Patients with a blood pressure ≥ 180/110 mmHg were excluded. A positive ethical approval for the study was obtained by the Ethics Committee North Rhine, Germany. After informed consent had been obtained, the study participants underwent examinations based on clinician-reported outcomes (ClinRO) and performance outcomes (PerfO) and completed different patient-reported outcomes (PROs). ClinROs included ultrasound, functional movement screen (FMS) and the collection of anthropometric and clinical data; PerfOs included cardiopulmonary performance, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), blood pressure measurement before and after 6MWT, joint mobility (neutral-zero method) and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) to evaluate movement pattern quality; PROs included the assessment of sociodemographic data, HRQoL (SF-12), Physical Activity Questions (EPIC - Simple Index), pain sensation scale (SES) and Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) measuring physical activity intensity level. All patients took part in regular physiotherapy (once a week) at the ARZD as prescribed by a physician. During the study, PWH continued to receive their usual hemophilia treatment regimen without study-related changes. Over a period of 12 months, ClinROs, PerfOs and PROs were collected repeatedly on a quarterly basis. Each patient was supposed to participate in 5 measure points (baseline, every 12 weeks over a one-year period). Ultrasound examinations were performed at baseline and at the conclusion at MZP5 in all patients. Results: At baseline 17 PWH (mean age 43.29±13.1 years) and 12 PWO (mean age 61.42±8.5 years) were enrolled; most PWH had HA (88.2%) were severely affected (58.8%) and 6/17 had a knee endoprosthesis. 88.2% of PWH had a disabled card (most with a disability degree of ≥ 80) compared to 45.5% of PWO (most with a disability degree of 50). PWH had a significant worse orthopaedic joint status ( p&amp;lt;.002) and subjective physical functioning ( p&amp;lt;.001) compared to PWO; PWH had a mean HJHS of 26.76±18.0 vs. 11.0±5.7 and a mean HEP-Test-Q of 48.12±16.4 vs. 67.08±9.1. PWO reported highest impairments in the domain ‘mobility’, while PWH suffered mainly under reduced ‘endurance’. With respect to their age, height and weight most of the PWH were below the predicted lower limit of the 6MWD compared to the PWO who all were above the lower limit of the 6MWD. No difference was found between the groups regarding FMS (11.34±3.8) and RPE before (11.5±3.3) after 6MWT (11.5±3.3). Conclusions: Our study took place during the Corona pandemic and was quite time consuming for the participants, resulting in a failure to reach the desired number of cases and lead to a high drop-out rate over the duration of the project. Although PWH were significantly younger than PWO, they had a significantly worse subjective (HEP-Test-Q) and objective physical functioning (HJHS).

Effectiveness of a participatory approach to develop school health interventions in four low resource cities: study protocol of the ‘empowering adolescents to lead change using health data’ cluster randomised controlled trial

IntroductionComprehensive local data on adolescent health are often lacking, particularly in lower resource settings. Furthermore, there are knowledge gaps around which interventions are effective to support healthy behaviours. This study...

The Compatibility of Children with Obesity to Self-Report Aspects of Physical Activity Domains.

Questions about the different aspects of physical activity (PA) are commonly asked in the clinical setting, yet their compatibility for use with children, particularly children with obesity (OB) is uncertain. Our aim was to investigate different PA-related questions when compared to an objective maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) or validated questionnaires. For this study, 33 normal-weight (NW) (5 to less than 85% BMI percentile) and 35 OB (≥95% BMI percentile) children responded to three self-report PA questions evaluating PA domains (exercise capacity, limitations, and the maintenance of an active lifestyle); they also completed a maximal CPET and two validated questionnaires: the New York Heart Association (NYHA) questionnaire and the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). The results regarding the NW children were highly compatible with their self-reports about exercise capacity (85%), whereas the compatibility was low (40%) in the OB group (p &lt; 0.001). Both OB and NW groups had moderate compatibility between the self-report and objective findings regarding their exercise limitations and lifestyle with no significant differences between the groups. These findings suggest that it is inadvisable to rely on a single-item question by which to assess PA in OB children, and no definite conclusions regarding PA status should be drawn. NW children are more compatible with self-reporting their overall exercise capacity, with more limited compatibilities observed when self-reporting their limitations or lifestyle.

Understanding of the Single-Item Physical Activity Question for Population Surveillance.

Sport New Zealand conducts continuous representative "Active NZ" surveys. Between 2019 and 2020 (n = 13,887), these surveys asked International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)-long-form questions, the single-item days (SI-days) per week question, and 1 question on hours per week (single-item hours [SI-hours] per week). This study examines relationships between the established SI-days question and meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines (150min moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week from SI-hours question and IPAQ). Analyses were descriptive, and the best fit between SI-days and the PA thresholds was estimated using area under the receiver operator characteristic curves and Youden index. Using SI-hours, 60.6% achieved 150+ minutes; 85.2% reported the IPAQ-total minimum threshold, and 40.8% met the IPAQ-leisure time PA-only threshold. Receiver operator characteristic analyses showed area under the curve values with IPAQ between 0.63 and 0.76, but the SI-days showed a very good area under the curve of 0.82 (0.81-0.83) with the SI-hours 150-minute threshold. Youden index suggested the best fit was at 3+days per week for maximizing Sensitivity and Specificity to meet IPAQ or SI-hours-defined PA guidelines. The SI-days per week question reflects achieving PA guidelines, and the best fit was with the SI-hours per week question. This provides surveillance-relevant concurrent validity for the SI-days measure, but the cut point for broadly meeting guidelines appears to be at least 3days per week, not 5days per week as previously thought.

P06-04 Agreement between single item physical activity measures in population surveillance in New Zealand

BackgroundSport New Zealand conducts continuous physical activity and sport “Active NZ” surveys, conducted since 2017; these survey around 20,000 representatively sampled adults annually (response rate 29-32%, data weighted to NZ Census population). There has been international interest in “single item” physical activity questions to estimate and monitor physical activity levels. Validated questions for adults have asked about the number of days in the past week people were active for > =30 mins for leisure or transport (SI-days). The Active NZ surveys also ask IPAQ-long form questions and a new single item question on the number of hours people were active in sport/recreation in the past 7 days (SI-hours). The public health problem is that the validated SI-days question cannot directly estimate the WHO recommended threshold of 150+ mins of PA/week. This study describes the prevalence of these questions, and examines the relationships between SI-days, SI-hours and IPAQ-long form [using 600 total PA met-mins as the threshold approximating 150 mins of moderate PA, and also using the leisure time domain only in IPAQ).MethodsAnalyses were descriptive, and inter-method comparisons using Spearman's correlations, and the best fit with the PA thresholds were estimated using Area under the ROC curve (AUC) and Youden's Index.ResultsIPAQ and SI-days were only collected mid 2019 to early 2020 (n = 15044). SI-days showed a mean of 3.2 days (SD=2.2), SI-hours 5.3 (SD=6.2), and SI-hours 150 mins+ was reported by 60.6%. 88.2% reached the IPAQ-total met threshold, and 41.4% met the IPAQ leisure only threshold. Correlations between SI measures and IPAQ were 0.22 for IPAQ-total, and ∼ 0.45 for IPAQ-leisure. SI-days and SI-hours were correlated rho=0.51. ROC curve analyses showed AUC values with IPAQ measures were between 0.63 to 0.76, but the SI-days showed a good AUC of 0.82 (0.81-0.83) with the SI-hours 150 mins threshold. Youdens index suggested the best fit was at 3+ days/week were most likely to meet the SI-hours threshold.ConclusionThese data show SI questions reflect health enhancing thresholds well, and that those reporting >3 SI days showed best fit with the 150mins threshold based on SI hours, indicating good surveillance utility.

Trajectory for 66 patients treated with periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and subsequent total hip arthroplasty: a follow-up study including 1378 hips from the Aarhus PAO database.

Outcomes for patients treated withPAO and subsequent total hip arthroplasty (THA) remain unclear. We evaluated patient-reported outcomes among patients treated with PAO and subsequent THA and investigated differences in the number of additional surgical procedures after PAO among patients treated with PAO and subsequent THA and patients treated with PAO only. 1378 hips underwent PAO and subsequently 66 hips were treated with THA. We evaluated the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) and physical activity questions for the 66 hips. Additional surgery after PAO was identified through inquiry to the Danish National Patient Registry. 13% undergoing PAO and subsequent THA reported a HOOS pain score ≤ 50 indicating a clinical failure. The risk difference for hip arthroscopy after PAO within 2 and 4years was 14% (CI 5-23%) and 26% (CI 15-38%) in favor of hips treated with PAO only. Similarly, the risk difference for screw removal within 2 and 4years was 19% (CI 8-29%) and 23% (CI 12-34%). 87% of patients undergoing PAO and subsequent THA had little or no hip pain. However, these patients received a high number of additional surgeries after PAO. Surgeons and patients may consider if additional surgery after PAO may be the first choice in a series of actions leading to conversion to THA.

Rates and patterns of physical activity among Hispanics with multiple sclerosis in the NARCOMS Registry

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of non-traumatic neurological disability among adults with an estimated incidence of 2.9 cases per 100,000 Hispanic adults. Hispanics with MS experience disproportionate rates of mobility disability compared to non-Hispanic Whites with MS. The current study aimed to examine the rates and patterns of physical activity (PA) behavior among Hispanics with MS and compare physical activity behavior to non-Hispanic Whites with MS in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Registry (NARCOMS). NARCOMS registry participantswho completed the physical activity questions in the Spring 2015 semi-annual survey were included in the analyses. Self-identified Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites were compared. Rates and patterns of physical activity were based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. We performed a 2:1 propensity score matching for comparing non-Hispanic White and Hispanic participants. Of the 6,352 NARCOMS participants in Spring 2015, we included 136 Hispanic and 6,216 non-Hispanic White participants. Among the Hispanic sample, median number of days engaged in vigorous PA was 0 and moderate PA was 1 day. Mean number of minutes sitting per day was 531±266 (approximately 9 hours). Further, a minority of Hispanic participants classified themselves as moderate or heavy active for work (11%), home (24%), and leisure (33%) physical activity. There were no significant differences between participants who identified as Hispanic (n=119) and propensity-matched non-Hispanics White participants (n=238) in demographics, clinical characteristics, or physical activity variables. Rates of physical activity were low among Hispanics with MS. This highlights an opportunity for examining the impact of physical activity interventions for improving mobility disability.

Convergent validity of commonly used questions assessing physical activity and sedentary time in Swedish patients after myocardial infarction

BackgroundGuidelines recommend regular physical activity (PA) and decreased sedentary time (SED) for patients after myocardial infarction (MI). Therefore, valid self-assessment of PA is vital in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to assess the convergent validity of commonly used PA and SED questions recommended by the National Board of Health and welfare (NBHW) and national SWEDEHEART-registry using accelerometers as the reference method in patients after MI.MethodsData were obtained 2017–2021 among Swedish men and women (180 assessments). Participants answered five commonly used PA and SED-questions (by NBHW and SWEDEHEART) and wore an accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X) for seven days. Convergent validity was assessed gradually by; Kruskall Wallis-, Sperman rho, Weighted Kappa- and ROC-analyses. Misclassification was explored by Chi-square analyses with Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment.ResultsThe strongest correlation (r = 0.37) was found for the SED-GIH question (NBHW). For PA, no specific question stood out, with correlations of r = 0.31 (NBWH), and r = 0.24–0.30 (SWEDEHEART). For all questions (NBHW and SWEDEHEART), there was a high degree of misclassification (congruency 12–30%) affecting the agreement (0.09–0.32) between self-report and accelerometer assessed time. The SED-GIH, PA-index and SWEDEHEART-VPA had the strongest sensitivity for identifying individuals with high SED (0.72) or low PA (0.77 and 0.75).ConclusionThe studied PA and SED questions may provide an indication of PA and SED level among patients with MI in clinical practice and could be used to form a basis for further dialogue and assessment. Further development is needed, since practical assessment tools of PA and SED are desirable.

Municipal resources to promote adult physical activity - a multilevel follow-up study

BackgroundIn Finland, local authorities (municipalities) provide many services, including sports and physical activity facilities such as pedestrian and bicycle ways and lanes, parks, sports arenas and pools. This study aimed to determine whether local authorities can promote physical activity by allocating resources to physical activity facilities.MethodsThe data on municipality expenditure on physical activity and sports, number of sports associations receiving subsidies from the municipality, kilometers of ways for pedestrians and bicycles and hectares of parks in 1999 and 2010 were gathered from national registers. These data were combined using unique municipal codes with individual survey data on leisure-time physical activity (N = 3193) and commuting physical activity (N = 1394). Panel data on physical activity originated from a national health survey, the Health 2000 study, conducted in 2000–2001 and 2011–2012. We used the data of persons who answered the physical activity questions twice and had the same place of residence in both years. In the data, the individuals are nested within municipalities, and multilevel analyses could therefore be applied. The data comprised a two-wave panel and the individuals were followed over 11 years.ResultsThe resources for physical activity varied between municipalities and years. Municipal expenditure for physical activity and total kilometers of pedestrian ways increased significantly during the 11 years, although a clear decrease was observed in individuals’ physical activity. In our models, individual characteristics including higher education level (OR 1.87) and better health status (OR 7.29) increased the odds of increasing physical activity. Female gender was associated with lower (OR 0.83) leisure-time physical activity. Living in rural areas (OR 0.37) decreased commuting physical activity, and age (OR 1.05) increased it. Women (OR 3.16) engaged in commuting physical activity more than men.ConclusionsIndividual-level factors were more important for physical activity than local resources. A large part of the variation in physical activity occurs between individuals, which suggests that some factors not detected in this study explain a large part of the overall variation in physical activity.

Relationships Between University Students' Gender and Physical Activity (PA) and Their Exercise Self-Schemas, Processing of PA-Related Information, and PA Decision-Making.

In the current study, we investigated the effects of gender and regular physical activity (PA) on PA decision-making and speed of information processing. We enrolled 110 university students (Mage = 20.91, SD =2.28years) in an experiment involving two tasks and a questionnaire. One of the two tasks assessed how much participants agreed with presented PA words and phrases and the other task predicted behavior and responses to future situations. We collected and measured the participants' choices and the time they took to make them. The questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), consisted of exercise self-schema and PA questions. We conducted a 2 (gender: male or female) ×2 (regular PA or not) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and found statistically significant differences between variables as a function of participants' gender (λ = .66, p < .001) and regular PA engagement (λ = .51, p < .001). In a regression analysis, we also found gender differences [males showed relationships between agreement with PA information and information processing speed for decisions on future behavior (R2 = .31, F = 12.50); females showed relationships between their exercise self-schema (R2 = .26, F = 18.18) and regular PA such that, in the non-regular PA group, exercise self-schema was related to reaction time in making decisions on future behavior (R2 = .29, F = 11.23), and in the regular PA group, agreement with PA information was related to reaction time for PA-related words, and agreement with non-PA information (R2 = .29, F = 8.91)]. These results highlight the need to consider participant characteristics when designing exercise interventions, and we present supplementary data regarding exercise self-schemas, decision-making, and the speed of processing PA information.

Low Amount and Intensity of Leisure-time Physical Activity in Asian Indian Adults.

We sought to describe leisure-time, aerobic, and muscle strengthening physical activity (PA) patterns in U.S. Asian Indians, in comparison to other races/ethnicities. We utilized the 2011-2018 National Health Interview Surveys, a set of cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys of the U.S. noninstitutionalized population. Our study population included 257652 adults who answered PA questions. PA was classified per 2008 U.S. guidelines and continuously per estimated metabolic equivalents (METs). Race was classified into White, Black, Asian Indian, Other Asian, and American Indian/Alaskan Native/Multiracial. We used survey design-adjusted, multivariable logistic regression to determine odds of sufficient and highly active physical activity levels, adjusting for predisposing, enabling, need, and health care service factors as guided by the Anderson Model. We also used linear regression to determine racial differences in average MET-minutes/week. Analysis was additionally stratified by comorbidity status. While Asian Indians (N = 3049) demonstrated similar odds of sufficient aerobic PA as Whites (aOR [95% CI]: .97 [.88,1.07]), Asian Indians had 22% lower odds of meeting highly active aerobic PA levels (.78 [.71,0.87]) and 18% lower odds of meeting sufficient muscle strengthening PA levels (.82 [.73,0.91]). This translated to an average 172 (95% CI: 45300) fewer MET-minutes. Furthermore, this decrease in MET-minutes/week was especially apparent in those without hypertension (β[95% CI]: -164 [-314,-15]) without diabetes (-185 [-319,-52]), and low/normal BMI (-422 [-623,-222]). Asian Indians, especially those without comorbidities, are less likely to engage in high-intensity physical activity than Whites.