Association Between Sense of Coherence and Health Outcomes at 10 and 20 Years Follow-Up: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study in Germany

Background: The sense of coherence (SOC) is reported to influence health, but health may also have an impact on SOC. The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between SOC and selected self-reported and physician-assessed health outcomes over a period of 10 and 20 years and to determine the predominant direction of the associations. Methods: We conducted a population-based, longitudinal study, involving 392 participants (188 females and 204 males; mean age 43.01 years) who were followed for a median of 10 and 18 years. Analyses of variance were carried out to examine the longitudinal associations between SOC at baseline and health outcomes (i.e., self-rated health status, SHS; physical health status assessed by a physician, PHS; self-reported satisfaction with life, SWL) at follow-ups. The direction of associations was examined using a cross-lagged model on correlation coefficients. Results: There were significant group effects for SOC at baseline on SHS at 20-year follow-up (F = 4.09, p = 0.018, ηp(2) = 0.041), as well as on SWL at 10-year (F = 12.67, p < 0.01, ηp(2) = 0.072) and at 20-year follow-up (F = 8.09, p < 0.1, ηp(2) = 0.069). SHS (r = 0.238, p < 0.01), PHS (r = −0.140, p < 0.05) and SWL (r = 0.400, p < 0.01) predicted SOC at 10-year follow-up stronger than vice versa. The direction of associations between SOC and health parameters at 20-year follow-up was less consistent. Conclusions: The long-term associations between SOC and self-reported and physician-assessed health may be reciprocal in community-dwelling adults. More research is needed to examine the predictive power of health on SOC and whether interventions targeted at improving health parameters, may impact SOC

Development of Physical Fitness among the Top 10 Boys and Girls in Sport Schools: A 10-Year Cohort Analysis

In this study, we aimed to measure the development of physical fitness (PF) of 10 different cohorts in grade 4 and 8 different cohorts in grade 7 at 18 sport schools of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A total of 11,451 subjects (3979 female, 7472 male) aged 8–12 from the past 10 years were assessed using the German Motor Test (DMT) in grade 4. We tested 2614 subjects (1032 girls, 1582 boys) aged 11–15 from the past eight years using the DMT in grade 7. PF talents were defined as the top 10 boys and top 10 girls of each cohort. Linear regression was calculated to assess the development of PF. The PF of all subjects remained stable in grade 4 and declined in grade 7. The PF of the top 10 boys and top 10 girls increased in both grades. The improvements were stronger in grade 7 (female: rates of change () = 0.80; male: = 0.76) than in grade 4 (female: = 0.36; male: = 0.32). Sit-ups and push-ups showed the highest change rates. The increase in PF of the top 10 boys and girls can be interpreted as a success for sport schools. Due to the increasing number of test participants, the likelihood of finding top talent increased. However, the increase in PF in the top talents was only partly explained by an increase in the number of tested individuals

A two step algorithm for learning from unspecific reinforcement

We study a simple learning model based on the Hebb rule to cope with "delayed", unspecific reinforcement. In spite of the unspecific nature of the information-feedback, convergence to asymptotically perfect generalization is observed, with a rate depending, however, in a non- universal way on learning parameters. Asymptotic convergence can be as fast as that of Hebbian learning, but may be slower. Moreover, for a certain range of parameter settings, it depends on initial conditions whether the system can reach the regime of asymptotically perfect generalization, or rather approaches a stationary state of poor generalization.Comment: 13 pages LaTeX, 4 figures, note on biologically motivated stochastic variant of the algorithm adde

Representative Percentile Curves of Physical Fitness From Early Childhood to Early Adulthood: The MoMo Study

Introduction: Monitoring of physical fitness in youth is important because physical fitness is a summative indicator of health. From a developmental and preventive perspective, physical fitness levels are relatively stable from childhood to early adulthood. Thus, it is important to monitor physical fitness on a population based level being able to intervene at early stages (1). In order to reliably assess and evaluate the physical fitness of youth, a reliable system of standard values based on representative data is required. The aim of this analysis is to report sex- and age-specific physical fitness percentile curves from childhood to early adulthood in a nationwide sample in Germany. Methods: We use data from the nationwide representative Motorik Modul (MoMo) Study in Germany (data collection wave 1: 2009–2012; age: 4–23 years; n = 3,742; 50.1% female). Physical fitness was assessed by means of the MoMo test profile covering four dimensions of physical fitness (strength, endurance, coordination, and flexibility) and including eight physical fitness items. Percentile curves were fitted using the LMS transformation method of Cole and Green. Results: Standardized age- and sex-specific physical fitness percentiles were calculated for eight items: ergometric endurance testing, standing long jump, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping side-ways, balancing backwards, static stand, and stand and reach test. The physical fitness curves differ according to gender and the fitness dimension. Physical fitness improvements with age are linear (e.g., max. strength) or curvilinear (e.g., coordination) and have their stagnation points at different times over the course of adolescence. Discussion: Our results provide for the first time sex- and age-specific physical fitness percentile curves for Germany from 4 to 17 years. Differences in curve-shapes indicating a timed and capacity-specific physical fitness development. Nationwide German physical fitness percentiles can be useful in comparing different populations (e.g., cross-country), reporting secular trends, comparing special groups, and to evaluate physical fitness interventions

Different Types of Physical Activity and Fitness and Health in Adults: An 18-Year Longitudinal Study

Objective. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between different types of daily life physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) and health throughout adulthood. Methods. A total of 723 men and women, aged 28–76 years, participated 1681 times during four measurement points from 1992 to 2010 in this study. We assessed self-reported PA, anthropometrics, physical health status (HS), and PF in each study year. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze the measures. Results. PF and HS worsened with increasing age while sports activity (SA) declined. The modeling showed that sex, age, and SES play important roles concerning PA, PF, and HS. Athletes show higher HS and HF than nonathletes. Habitual activity (HA) also showed a positive relationship with PF and HS, but effects were lower than for SA. Work related activity (WRA) showed no meaningful relationship with PF or HS. Conclusions. Comparable amounts of PA can lead to different effects on PF or HS. Our findings underline the importance of contexts, content, and purposes of PA when health or fitness benefits are addressed. Simply moving your body is not enough

A canonical ensemble approach to graded-response perceptrons

Perceptrons with graded input-output relations and a limited output precision are studied within the Gardner-Derrida canonical ensemble approach. Soft non- negative error measures are introduced allowing for extended retrieval properties. In particular, the performance of these systems for a linear and quadratic error measure, corresponding to the perceptron respectively the adaline learning algorithm, is compared with the performance for a rigid error measure, simply counting the number of errors. Replica-symmetry-breaking effects are evaluated.Comment: 26 pages, 10 ps figure

Effects of Endurance Exercise Training and Crataegus Extract WS® 1442 in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Impaired exercise capacity is the core symptom of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We assessed effects of exercise training and Crataegus extract WS 1442 in HFpEF and aimed to identify mechanisms of action in an exploratory trial (German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00000259). 140 sedentary HFpEF NYHA II patients on standard treatment received eight weeks of aerobic endurance training and half were randomized to WS 1442 900 mg/day. Symptoms, 2 km walking time (T2km), parameters of exercise tolerance, cardiac and vascular function, muscular efficiency and skeletal muscular haemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2) measured during a treadmill protocol were captured at baseline and after eight weeks. Adverse events were recorded during the trial. Mechanisms of action were explored by correlation and path analyses of changes. Symptoms and exercise capacity improved with training, but correlations between improvements were low and path models were rejected. SO2 increased, decreased or undulated with increasing exercise intensity in individual patients and was not altered by training. WS 1442 improved T2km (-12.7% vs. -8.4%, p = 0.019), tended to improve symptoms and to pronounce SO2-decrease with increasing exercise, an indicator of oxygen utilisation. Endurance training and WS 1442 were safe and well tolerated in combination with standard drug treatment

A school-based physical activity program to improve health and fitness in children aged 6–13 years ("Kinder-Sportstudie KISS"): study design of a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN15360785]

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is the result of a long lasting imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. A major contributing factor is physical inactivity which is closely linked to bone health, cardiovascular disease risk, fitness and psychological factors. The school seems to provide an excellent setting to enhance levels of physical activity (PA). However, there is insufficient data from previous school-based intervention trials on how to enhance overall PA. It is also unknown whether an intervention aimed at increasing PA is effective in improving the children's health. The purpose of this paper is to outline the design of a school-based randomized, controlled trial (RCT) aiming to increase overall PA and to improve fitness and health in 6- to 13-year-old children. METHODS/DESIGN: 15 schools were randomized to the intervention (n = 9) or the control (n = 6) group, stratified by geographic region (urban vs. rural) and by age (1(st )and 5(th )grade). Participation was given for all children in the intervention group since in this group the intervention was part of the normal school curriculum. The intervention during one academic year consisted of: 1. two additional physical education classes per week given by trained physical education teachers adding up to a total of five PA classes per week, 2. short PA breaks (2–5 min each) during academic lessons, 3. PA home work, and 4. adaptation of recreational areas around the school. All children underwent anthropometric measurements, blood pressure assessment, fitness testing, measurement of PA and they filled out questionnaires. At least 70% of all children agreed to blood sampling and measurements of body composition and bone mineral measurements by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. The primary endpoints of the study after one year were an increase in total PA by accelerometry, an increase in aerobic fitness measured by the 20 m shuttle run, a decrease in percent body fat derived from skinfold measurements and an increase in quality of life as assessed by the child health questionnaire in the intervention group compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes were overall fitness, differences in body composition including body fat distribution, cardiovascular risk factors, psychosocial health, bone mineral content and density of femur, lumbar spine and total body and food intake. DISCUSSION: Our preliminary data suggest that the children were representative of Swiss children with respect to sex, socio-demographic status, and body mass index. Short-term results can be expected by the beginning of 2007. We hypothesized that our intervention will lead to an increase in PA, fitness and overall health. Based on our data, we aim to provide important information regarding the influence of such an intervention on these outcome measures in school-aged children and to provide nationwide guidelines to improve PA in children