The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

It has been demonstrated that, on their own, both exercise and stimulation from the environment can improve cognitive function and well-being in older adults. The combined effect of exercising in the outdoor environment on psychological function is less well studied. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of an outdoor cycling intervention on cognitive function and mental health and well-being in older adults. A total of 100 older adults took part in the study (aged 50–83), 26 of which were non-cycling controls, 36 were conventional pedal cyclists and 38 were participants using an e-bike (a bike fitted with an electric motor to provide assistance with pedaling), as part of a larger project (www.cycleboom.org). Participants took part in the study for an eight-week period, with cycling participants required to cycle at least three times a week for thirty minutes in duration for each cycle ride. Cognitive function and well-being were measured before and after the intervention period. For executive function, namely inhibition (the Stroop task) and updating (Letter Updating Task), both cycling groups improved in accuracy after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. E-bike participants also improved in processing speed (reaction times in go trials of the Stop-It task) after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. Finally, e-bike participants improved in their mental health score after the intervention compared to non-cycling controls as measured by the SF-36. This suggests that there may be an impact of exercising in the environment on executive function and mental health. Importantly, we showed a similar (sometimes larger) effect for the e-bike group compared to the pedal cyclists. This suggests that it is not just the physical activity component of cycling that is having an influence. Both pedal cycles and e-bikes can enable increased physical activity and engagement with the outdoor environment with e-bikes potentially providing greater benefits

Associations between fitness, physical activity and mental health in a community sample of young British adolescents: baseline data from the Fit to Study trial

Objectives. To examine relationships between fitness, physical activity and psychosocial problems among English secondary school pupils and to explore how components of physically active lifestyles are associated with mental health and well-being. Methods. A total of 7385 participants aged 11–13 took a fitness test and completed self-reported measures of physical activity, attitudes to activity, psychosocial problems and self-esteem during the Fit to Study trial. Multilevel regression, which modelled school-level cluster effects, estimated relationships between activity, fitness and psychosocial problems; canonical correlation analysis (CCA) explored modes of covariation between active lifestyle and mental health variables. Models were adjusted for covariates of sex, free school meal status, age, and time and location of assessments. Results. Higher fitness was linked with fewer internalising problems (β=−0.23; 95% CI −0.26 to −0.21; p<0.001). More activity was also related to fewer internalising symptoms (β=−0.24; 95% CI −0.27 to −0.20; p<0.001); the relationship between activity and internalising problems was significantly stronger for boys than for girls. Fitness and activity were also favourably related to externalising symptoms, with smaller effect sizes. One significant CCA mode, with a canonical correlation of 0.52 (p=0.001), was characterised high cross-loadings for positive attitudes to activity (0.46) and habitual activity (0.42) among lifestyle variables; and for physical and global self-esteem (0.47 and 0.42) among mental health variables. Conclusion. Model-based and data-driven analysis methods indicate fitness as well as physical activity are linked to adolescent mental health. If effect direction is established, fitness monitoring could complement physical activity measurement when tracking public health

Fit to Study: Reflections on designing and implementing a large-scale randomized controlled trial in secondary schools

Background. The randomised controlled trial (RCT) design is increasingly common among studies seeking good-quality evidence to advance educational neuroscience, but conducting RCTs in schools is challenging. Fit to Study, one of six such trials funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and Wellcome Trust, tested an intervention to increase vigorous physical activity during PE lessons on maths attainment among pupils aged 12–13. This review of designing and conducting an RCT in 104 schools is intended as a resource on which researchers might draw for future studies. Method. We consider intervention design and delivery; recruitment, retention, trial management, data collection and analysis including ethical considerations and working with evaluators. Results. Teacher training, intervention delivery and data collection during large-scale RCTs require a flexible approach appropriate to educational settings, which in turn entails planning and resources. Conclusion. Simple interventions, with few outcome measures and minimal missing data, are preferable to more complex designs

'You can go out 14 miles away with the knowledge that you’ve got the battery to help you back if you need it!': Narratives of ranging behaviour and wellbeing in diaries of e-bike trial participants.

This paper draws on data from a large UK study that aimed to understand cycling among the older population and how this affected independence, health and wellbeing. Part of the study involved an ‘e-bike trial’ where participants aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling after a hiatus, were loaned an e-bike for an eight-week trial period. Pre-trial and post-trial cognitive tests of trial participants, reported previously Leyland et al. (2019), demonstrated how e-bikes, provide positive benefits to cognitive function and wellbeing. The paper builds on these findings, drawing specifically on the qualitative component, predominantly biographical interviews, written and visual material provided in rider diaries and a focus group discussion, to understand the reasons for this positive impact. The findings demonstrate how power assistance can provide riders with the opportunity to extend the distance and types of area they are willing to cycle from their homes (their ‘ranging behaviour’) and how this can promote health and wellbeing. Our evidence suggests that e-bikes have the potential to support cycling for leisure as well as everyday travel and that consideration should be given to the positive effects of e-cycling on mental wellbeing in addition to physical activity. This is particularly pertinent in the context of an ageing society, the push towards zero-emission cities and the need to ensure socially inclusive mobility, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 global pandemic

The importance of prototype similarity for physical activity: cross-sectional and longitudinal associations in a large sample of young adolescents

Objectives. Physical activity declines during adolescence. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is a useful framework for investigating activity, but leaves variance unexplained. We explored the utility of a dual-process approach by using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Prototype Willingness Model to investigate correlates of physical activity, and of one-year change in physical activity, among a large sample of adolescents. Design. A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of baseline and follow-up data from the Fit to Study cluster-randomised trial.  Methods. 9,699 secondary school pupils at baseline and 4,632 at follow-up (mean age=12.5 years) completed measures of past week physical activity and constructs from the two behaviour-change models, at time-points one year apart. Cross-sectional analyses used multilevel, stepwise models to measure strength of associations between model constructs and physical activity, and variance in behaviour explained by Prototype Willingness Model over and above Theory of Planned Behaviour. In longitudinal analyses, change scores were calculated by subtracting follow-up from baseline scores. Models controlling for trial treatment status measured strength of associations between change scores, and variance explained. Results. At baseline, after controlling for past behaviour, physically-active prototype similarity had the strongest relationship with activity after intention to be active.  Change in prototype similarity had the strongest relationship with change in activity after change in intention and attitudes. Prototype perceptions and willingness explained additional variance in behaviour. Conclusion. A dual-process model incorporating prototype perceptions could more usefully predict  physical activity than models based on rational expectations alone.  Behaviour-change interventions promoting an active self-image could be tested for effects on physical activity. Key words: Theory of Planned Behaviour, Prototype Willingness Model, physical activity, adolescent, behaviour-change

'Instead of "closing down" at our ages… we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do': older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes

This paper explores how people aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling as part of an eight-week health and wellbeing trial, created their own cycling microadventures. Applying a stage model of the process of adventure to qualitative data generated from personal diaries and focus groups, we examine how older people anticipated and prepared for their microadventures, the challenges and discoveries they experienced, the benefits they gained and how electrically assisted ‘e-bikes’ can provide further opportunities for adventure. We conclude that cycles are a mode uniquely placed to facilitate microadventures and that e-bikes, in particular, offer further potential to enable older people to (re-)connect with place and other people. But, while this type of activity can provide benefits in terms of health and wellbeing, we argue that more supportive physical and social infrastructure is required to provide opportunities for more people to undertake microadventures close to their homes

Playing Games with Tito:Designing Hybrid Museum Experiences for Critical Play

This article brings together two distinct, but related perspectives on playful museum experiences: Critical play and hybrid design. The article explores the challenges involved in combining these two perspectives, through the design of two hybrid museum experiences that aimed to facilitate critical play with/in the collections of the Museum of Yugoslavia and the highly contested heritage they represent. Based on reflections from the design process as well as feedback from test users, we describe a series of challenges: Challenging the norms of visitor behaviour, challenging the role of the artefact, and challenging the curatorial authority. In conclusion, we outline some possible design strategies to address these challenges

Evaluating the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation D614G on Transmissibility and Pathogenicity.

Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Despite the availability of a large dataset, well represented by both spike 614 variants, not all approaches showed a conclusive signal of positive selection. Population genetic analysis indicates that 614G increases in frequency relative to 614D in a manner consistent with a selective advantage. We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice