Healthy ageing in Europe: prioritizing interventions to improve health literacy

Background: Health literacy (HL) is low for 40-50% of the population in developed nations, and is strongly linked to many undesirable health outcomes. Older adults are particularly at risk. The Intervention Research on Health Literacy in Ageing populations project systematically created a large inventory of HL interventions targeting adults age 50+, to support practical production of policy and practice guidelines for promoting health literacy in European populations. Methods: We comprehensively surveyed international scientific literature, grey literature and other sources (published 2003+) for implemented HL interventions that involved older adults. Studies were screened for eligibility criteria and further selected for aspects important in European public health policy, including priority diseases, risk factors and vulnerable target groups. Interventions were prioritised using a multiple criteria tool to select final interventions that also featured strong evidence of efficacy and a broad range of strategies. Results: From nearly 7000 written summaries, 1097 met inclusion criteria, of which 233 were chosen for scoring and ranking. Of these, 7 had the highest multi-criteria scores. Eight more articles were selected based on rounded criteria including a high multi-criteria score as well as elements of innovation. Final selections were 18 articles describing 15 programmes, which feature strong evidence of efficacy among important diseases or risk factors and vulnerable groups, or that had success with elements of innovation were identified. Most programmes tried to increase skills in communication, self-management and understanding healthcare or lifestyle choices. Conclusions: These programmes have multiple positive attributes which could be used as guidance for developing innovative intervention programmes to trial on European older adults. They provide evidence of efficacy in addressing high priority diseases and risk factors

Új low back pain prevenciós mozgásprogram, amely javítja a törzsizmok állapotát és a lumbalis motoros kontrollt | Improvement of lumbal motor control and trunkmuscle conditions with a novel low back pain prevention exercise program

Absztrakt: Bevezetés: A balett-táncosok gyakran szenvednek deréktáji fájdalomtól. Célkitűzés: Speciális mozgásprogrammal, a törzsizmok erősítése révén, a deréktáji fájdalmak csökkentése. Módszer: 62 balett-táncosnőt (átlagéletkor: 14,89 ± 1,21 év) vizsgáltunk. Kezelt csoport: n = 30 fő, átlagéletkor: 14,86 ± 1,00 év, kontrollcsoport: n = 32 fő, átlagéletkor: 14,91 ± 1,37 év. Vizuális analóg skálával vizsgáltuk az edzéseken jelentkező derékfájdalom intenzitását, fotogrammetriás vizsgálattal habituális testtartásukat, Kraus–Weber-teszttel a hasizmok erejét, core-teszttel a törzsizmok statikus erejét, leg lowering teszttel a lumbalis motoros kontroll képességet. A kezelt csoport három hónapig LBP prevenciós mozgásprogramot végzett, majd újból elvégeztük a vizsgálatokat. Eredmények: Szignifikánsan csökkent az esetcsoport derékfájásának intenzitása (VAS1: p = 0,012; VAS2: p = 0,021), szignifikánsan javult hasizomereje (K–W. B: p = 0,025; K–W. C: p<0,001), a törzsizmok statikus ereje (core-test: p<0,001), lumbalis motoros kontroll képessége, mindkét láb esetében (Leg low. J.: p<0,001; Leg low. B.: p<0,001). A habituális testtartás magas százalékban javult (elölnézet: 34,78%, oldalnézet: 52,17%). Következtetés: A speciális mozgásprogrammal csökkenthető a balett-táncosok derékfájdalma, a sérülések előfordulási gyakorisága. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(2), 58–66. | Abstract: Introduction: Ballet dancers often suffer from low back pain. Aim: Low back pain can be reduced by strengthening the core muscles with the help of a special exercise program. Materials and methods: In the study 62 ballet dancer women (average age: 14.89 ± 1.21 years) were included. Intervention group: n = 30 participant, average age: 14.86 ± 1.00 years, control group: n = 32 participant, average age: 14.91 ± 1.37 years. We examined the pain intensity that occurs during training with visual analog scale, the habitual posture with photogrammetry, the abdominal muscle strength with Kraus–Weber test, the static muscle strength of the trunk muscles with core test and the lumbar motor control with leg lowering test. The intervention group did a trunk prevented exercise program during 3 months, and then we examined them again. Results: In the intervention group the intensity of pain significantly decreased (VAS1: p = 0.012; VAS2: p = 0.021), the abdominal muscle strength significantly improved (K–W. B: p=0.025; K–W. C: p<0.001), the static muscle strength of trunk muscles significantly increased (Core-test: p<0.001) and the lumbar motor control significantly improved in both legs (Leg low. R.: p<0.001; Leg low. L.: p<0.001). Also, the habitual posture greatly improved (frontal view: 34.78%, side view: 52.17%). Conclusion: In ballet dancers with a special exercise program, which improves the conditions of trunk muscles, the motor control of lumbar regions can be improved and the lower back pain and the incidence of injuries can be reduced. Orv., Hetil., 2017, 158(2), 58–66

Adaption and validation of simplified Chinese version of the Low Back Pain Knowledge questionnaire (sC-LKQ)

IntroductionLow back pain (LBP) knowledge questionnaire (LKQ) was developed by a Brazilian research group in 2009. It has been cross-culturally adapted to many languages with good reliability and validity. This work aimed to translate and validate the LKQ into a simplified Chinese version and to evaluate the self-efficacy in LBP among Chinese participants from China and Hungary.MethodsA total of 431 people participated in this research, which lasted from September 2021 to June 2022 and was conducted on the Credamo online platform. The simplified Chinese LKQ (sC-LKQ) was generated through translation and cross-cultural adaptation guidelines. The participants were selected to fill out demographic questions, the sC-LKQ, and the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). The reliability and validity of the data were evaluated using SPSS 28.0.ResultsThe sC-LKQ showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was 0.79), and the intraclass correlation value was 0.85. There were five components in the questionnaire with good construct validity. The scores of RMDQ had negatively correlated with sC-LKQ.ConclusionIn the Chinese population, the sC-LKQ demonstrated excellent psychometric qualities and could be used to evaluate self-efficacy in clinical practice and research

Effect of active and passive techniques used in thromboembolic prophylaxis on venous flow velocity in the post-procedure period

IntroductionStudies have shown that using mechanical thromboembolic prophylaxis methods speeds up venous flow and decreases stasis. These studies examine the post-intervention period of 1–10 min. The length of the effect of procedures to raise venous flow velocity cannot be determined by clinical trials. To apply mathematical techniques to estimate how long mechanical thromboembolism prophylaxis procedures will increase venous flow rate.MethodsIn the survey, we examined 25 persons (poststroke patients), with an average age of 57.2 ± 6.3 years. Regarding the proportion of genders, 13 (52%) participants were male and 12 (48%) female. The peak venous blood flow velocity was measured with a HADECO BIDOP ES-100V II type Doppler ultrasound device, using an 8 MHz head, in the femoral vein, at the level of the hip joint. We estimated the change of the venous blood flow velocity from the available sampled data using the method of least squares. For the calculations, we used Microsoft Excel, version Mac Excel 2019.ResultsThe decrease in peak venous flow velocity can be approximated by a logarithm function. Mathematical calculations show that after active thromboembolic prophylaxis interventions, resting venous flow velocity is restored at 26.8 min on the intact limb and 85.1 min on the hemiparetic side. Resting flow velocity is restored in 131.9 min after passive mobilization of the hemiparetic side and in 137.7 min after the consensual effect.DiscussionAn elementary mathematical function can be used to estimate the time to recovery of peak venous flow velocity to resting state from measurements taken 15 min after the intervention. Active and passive mechanical thromboembolic prophylaxis after the intervention has a longer-term effect on venous flow velocity

SITTING TIME AND SPORT PARTICIPATION OF THE EMPLOYED POPULATION IN HUNGARY AND EUROPE

Introduction. The aim of our study was to examine the participation, motivation and locations of sport activity of adult employed population in Hungary and Europe, highlighting the differences in sport participation among different occupation groups. Methods. The Eurobarometer (EB) is a set of international surveys conducted on behalf of the European Commission. The survey consisted of two modules, the ‘Standard EB’ which contains the core set of questions which are similar in every survey, and the ‘Special EB’ which included physical activity (PA) and sitting time (ST). In our research we used the Eurobarometer 2013 database. Results. According to ST we found significant differences between the European and Hungarian employed adults. Hungarian respondents spent less time with sitting. The proportion of respondents not doing any sports is the highest among Hungarian women (67,44%, CI: 64,24 - 70,64), and those who’s occupation is “supervisor”, “unskilled or skilled manual worker”, or whose job is an “employed position – travelling” or “employed position at desk” (62,64% (CI: 55.58 - 69.70) -72,41% (CI: 64,11-80,71). Conclusion. Our results show that more than one-third of Hungarian employees do not do regular sports, but overall spend less time sitting than the EU average. The amount of sitting and the proportion of inactive respondents is higher among women. Based on our analysis of job types we highlight office administrators’ work – with higher rate of females –which includes very little PA. Thus, the increase of PA among women and among administrative workers is the key focus of our further research

BACK SCHOOL PROGRAM: DEVELOPMENT OF BACK CARE KNOWLEDGE AND SPINE DISEASE PREVENTION AND TRUNK STATE AMONG 6-7-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN

Introduction: The prevalence of posture deformities and muscle weakness among primary school children is high (50-65%). Objective: To assess and improve the back care knowledge and spine disease prevention, the strength of the trunk muscles, the flexibility of the lower limb muscles, the posture, and the lumbar motor control ability of primary school children by a 1-school year back school program. Methods: 102 (mean age: 6.549±0.500 years) children were examined at the baseline, and 48 (23 boys, 25 girls) were chosen for the program. Back care knowledge was examined by validated questionnaire, trunk muscle strength, and muscle flexibility by Lehmann tests, posture by New York Posture Rating Chart, and lumbar motor control by Sitting Forward Lean Test. Results: The complete back care knowledge (2.423±3.911, 19.115±2.833 points; p<0.001), trunk flexor (3.615±7.910, 56.885±113.748 sec; p<0.001), trunk extensor (8.962±5.963, 77.000±139.801 sec; p<0.001) static muscle strength, lower limb flexibility (p<0.001), habitual posture (53.846±10.130, 81.154±9.829 points; p<0.001), posture deemed correct 40.962±16.311, 91.346±6.566 points; p<0.001) and lumbar motor control (8.269±5.474, 0.154±0.368 mm; p<0.001) significantly improved in the intervention group for the end of the program. Conclusions: The back school program improves the back care knowledge and the trunk state among 6-7 years old children

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRE-TREATMENT HABITUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SUCCESS OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTION

Introduction. The increasing incidence of infertility, the stagnation of success rates of its treatments, and the reasons for success vs. failure are current research topics both from psychosocial and lifestyle point of view. Objective. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of pre-treatment physical activity (PA) on the level of infertility-related distress and on outcome measures in women undergoing assisted reproductive therapy (ART). Methods. A prospective observational cohort study was carried out involving 45 female patients with infertility diagnosis in a university hospital-based fertility centre during March – July 2017 with the follow up of outcome measures in May 2018. Standardized psychological questionnaires and pre-treatment PA habits were administrated. Results. 60% of the women reported regular physical activity. 73.3% self-reported normal mood state (average 5.0±4.1) with BDI-13 and 91.1% self-reported normal level of distress (average 2.3±2,1) with GHQ-12. Moderately high stress by social concern (42.7±8.8) and very high stress level by sexual (39.2±6.5) and by relationship concern (48.4±9.1) of FPI was found. Significant difference between active and inactive group was described for PICS Self Regulating System (p= .034). Significant relationship between pre-treatment PA and successful pregnancy (p=.036) was found. Conclusions. Infertility specific scales provide more appropriate description on mental status of ART patients than general scales. Pre-treatment PA could positively affect success of ART. However, for more impressive results, detailed assessment of physical activity, increased number of participants, and further examinations are needed

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE VISEGRAD (V4) COUNTRIES

Introduction. Sedentary way of life has become a global phenomenon in the past decades. Therefore, the number of people with excess weight has doubled in the past 30 years. Besides this fact, it has been justified that more than half of the population is overweight. Even young adults are affected by the problem. It is an important issue because 60% of the overweight young people keep their excess body weight in later adulthood increasing the risk of different diseases. Material and method. Our study aims at assessing the differences between the health status and the physical activity among young people (secondary school and university students) in the Visegrad (V4) countries. Our current research examines the differences in the physical activity among university students regarding their sexes (n=2237). SPSS 22.00 software was used for statistical analysis. Results. According to the results, we found significant differences (p0.05). In Slovakia, we found significant differences between sexes in total MET/week and walking activities (MET/week) (p<0.001), thus, female students were found to be more active than males caused by the higher rates of walking activities of women. Conclusion. The V4 countries are not in an advantageous situation concerning physical activity in the European framework because only 21-35% of the population does sports once a week. According to our results, university students show a more positive picture on physical activity than the adult population. However, there are some specific risk groups. 43.8% of female and 57.3% male students can be considered as persons with high physical activity. Our findings may play a major role in the development of intervention programs targeting young people and in the concern of the differences between sexes. Furthermore, these results may call young people’s attention to health maintenance to preserve their fitness for getting better activity figures

Egy deréktáji fájdalommal kapcsolatos betegségspecifikus tudást felmérő külföldi kérdőív hazai, magyar nyelvű validálása = The Hungarian translation and validation of the Low Back Pain Knowledge Questionnaire

Absztrakt: Bevezetés: A nemzetközi szakirodalomban számos, betegségspecifikus tudást mérő kérdőív ismert, mely a betegek életminőségét, állapotuk progresszióját, funkcionális statusukat vizsgálja. Magyar nyelven kevés, a betegségspecifikus tudás mérésével kapcsolatos kérdőívet validáltak. Célkitűzés: Célunk volt a Low Back Pain Knowledge Questionnaire (LKQ) magyar nyelvre fordítása, megbízhatóságának és validitásának vizsgálata. Módszer: A felmérésben 218 fő vett részt (krónikus low back pain [derékfájdalom-] szindrómás betegek, egészségügyi dolgozók, egészségügyi ismeretekkel nem rendelkezők). Átlagéletkor: 34 (18–64) év. A Maciel és mtsai által 2009-ben megalkotott LKQ fordítását és validálását Beaton és mtsai 2000-ben megfogalmazott hatlépcsős elve szerint végeztük. A kérdőív belső konzisztenciáját Cronbach-alfa-érték-számítással mértük fel. A kérdőív külső validálását Roland–Morris-index segítségével végeztük. A megismételhetőségi vizsgálatot teszt-reteszt módszerrel Spearman-féle korrelációs koefficienssel vizsgáltuk. Eredmények: A kérdőív megbízhatóságát vizsgáló Cronbach-alfa-érték 0,894 volt. A Roland–Morris-indexszel összehasonlítva az LKQ-val jól korreláló kérdőívet kaptunk (R = –0,393). A kérdőív teszt-reteszt vizsgálati eredménye (R = 0,541–0,795, p<0,050) mérsékelt és megfelelő összefüggést mutatott. Következtetés: Az LKQ magyar nyelvre fordított verzióját, a Derékfájdalommal kapcsolatos betegségspecifikus tudást felmérő kérdőívet (DTK) megbízható és valid tudásmérő eszköznek találtuk. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(42): 1663–1672. | Abstract: Introduction: Many disease-specific questionnaires, which analyze patients’ functional status, quality of life or the progression of the disease, have been validated in Hungarian. The low back pain (LBP) patients’ knowledge about their problem has not been measured by an officially validated Hungarian tool. Aim: The aim of our study was to translate and validate the Low Back Pain Knowledge Questionnaire (LKQ) and to assess its validity and reliability. Method: We used the translation-back translation method as the first step. Then we used a synthesis of the back translations reviewed by independent translators. We enrolled 218 people in our study: 101 of them were chronic LBP patients and 73 acute LBP patients. For the validation process, we used the Roland–Morris Disability Index to compare our questionnaire. We calculated Cronbach’s alpha values and correlation coefficients. Results: The Hungarian version of LKQ correlated well with the Roland–Morris Index and it proved to be a valid questionnaire (correlation coefficient: –0.393; Cronbach’s alpha value 0.894). Conclusion: We found the Hungarian version of LKQ a valid and reliable tool to measure patients’ knowledge about LBP. We recommend future studies should apply bigger and more homogenous populations to assess LBP disease-specific knowledge in this country. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(42): 1663–1672