Raising activity levels as a health risk reduction intervention in Hong Kong children

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The enjoyment of physical activity determines body mass index in young people with physical disabilities

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A synopsis of current care of thalassaemia major patients in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE: To provide a synopsis of current thalassaemia major patient care in Hong Kong. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: All haematology units of the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. PATIENTS: All patients with thalassaemia major with regular transfusion. RESULTS: To date, there were 363 thalassaemia major patients under the care of the Hospital Authority. Prenatal diagnosis has helped to reduce the number of indigenous new cases, but in recent years immigrant cases are appearing. The patients have a mean age of 23 (range, 1-52) years, and 78% of them are adults. In 2009, they received 18 782 units of blood. This accounted for 9.5% of all blood consumption from the Hong Kong Red Cross. In the past, cardiac iron overload was the major cause of death (65%) and few patients survived beyond the age of 45 years. The availability of cardiac iron assessment by magnetic resonance imaging (T2 MRI) to direct the use of oral deferiprone chelation has reduced the prevalence of heart failure and cardiac haemosiderosis, which should reduce mortality and improve life expectancy. CONCLUSION: The future for thalassaemia care in Hong Kong is bright. With better transfusion and chelation, it should be possible to avoid growth and endocrine deficiencies in younger patients.published_or_final_versio

HLA alleles associated with asparaginase hypersensitivity in Chinese children

Asparaginase is an important drug to treat childhood haematological malignancies. Data on the association between human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and asparaginase hypersensitivity among Chinese are lacking. We conducted a retrospective study to identify HLA alleles associated with asparaginase hypersensitivity among Chinese children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), mixed phenotype leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), who received asparaginases with HLA typing performed between 2009 and 2019. 107 Chinese patients were analysed. 66.3% (71/107) developed hypersensitivity to at least one of the asparaginases. HLA-B*46:01 (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.4-10.1, p < 0.01) and DRB1*09:01 (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.6-11.4, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with L-asparaginase hypersensitivities, which remained significant after adjustment for age, gender and B cell ALL [HLA-B*46:01 (adjusted OR 3.5, 95% 1.3-10.5, p = 0.02) and DRB1*09:01 (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.6-13.3, p < 0.01)]

Physical Activity Enjoyment Determines Weight Status in Adolescents and Young People with Physical Disabilities

Enhancing Health through Physiotherapy – 50 years and beyondFulltext of the abstract in: http://www.sipcongress.org/files/SIPC_2014_Abstract_E-Book.pdfPoster Session: Physical ActivityBackground: Adolescent weight status is an increasing effect of health problems. Adolescent weight problems are often overlooked as weight assessment is not considered a priority in adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to compare the body mass index (BMI) and patterns of out-of-school activity participation in young people with and without physical disabilities, and examine the relationship between BMI and the activity participate on patterns among young people with physical disabilities. Methods: Thirty-nine young persons with physical disabilities (23 male, 16 female; mean age ± standard deviation, SD: 18.79±1.99 years) and 70 healthy individuals (44 male, 26 female; mean age± SD: 18.64±0.74 years) participated in the study. The diversity, intensity, companionship, location and enjoyment of participation in activities were evaluated using the Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) scale. Body height and weight were obtained from the participants’ therapists and BMI was calculated. Results: Young people with physical disabilities, regardless of their gender, had significantly lower CAPE-derived scores in almost all types of activity than the control participants (p<0.05). Moreover, BMI was significantly higher in the group with physical disabilities than in the control group (p<0.001). Regression analysis further showed that the CAPE score for physical activity explained 17.2% of the variance in BMI (p=0.021). Young people with physical disabilities generally had lower levels of activity participation and a higher BMI than their healthy counterparts. The perception of enjoyment during physical activities was an important determinant of BMI in this group of participants. Conclusion(s): Our results could lead to improvements in the design of activity programmes to combat obesity in people with physical disabilities

Raising Activity Levels: A Multidimensional Analysis of Curriculum Change

Using Fullan's (1982) The Meaning of Educational Change (Toronto, OISE Press) multidimensional framework, this paper discusses the problems of curriculum change by examining the subjective experiences of physical education teachers. The discussion was based on interviews with teachers who were involved in a study to change health behaviors of high school students. Although no discernable changes in behavior were observed, the explanations for the results, as reported by the teachers, have provided insights of greater importance. Two physical education classes consisting of boys and girls aged between 11 and 13 years from 20 secondary schools were selected for pre-test and post-test measurements. The data collected included a survey, direct observation, heart rate monitoring and motion sensoring. A teacher-designed modification of the physical education curriculum was used as an intervention as it was specifically aimed at increasing activity. A debriefing of teachers in the experimental group indicated that they considered the teacher-designed lesson guide to be valuable. However, when the teachers were faced with implementing change in their physical classes, they (like the researchers) underestimated the situational and personal-social factors that prevented untested ideas from being transformed into firm beliefs and values. The findings confirmed the predictions of a multidimensional model of educational change, which indicated that, when challenged, technological and material innovations are more easily changed than attitudes, beliefs and values held by teachers.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The effect of motor skills training on self-perceived physical competence in children with developmental coordination disorder

Theme: Promoting healthy eating and activity worldwidePoster Session - Child/Adolescent Physical Activity & Nutrition: abstract no. P502PURPOSE: Positive self-perceptions of physical competence are important for persistent motor attempts and physical activity in children. Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) who are diagnosed as having motor impairments exhibit low self-perceived physical competence (SPC). Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are foundations for developing more complex movements. This study determined whether FMS training in children with DCD resulted in improved SPC when compared to typically developing (TD) children. METHODS: Participants include 84 children (7-10 years) who were allocated into either FMS training group (22 DCD-FMS, 17 TDFMS) or control (C) group who underwent regular physical education lessons (16 DCD-C, 29 TD-C). FMS training was conducted within a school setting for 6 weeks, twice per week and 35 minutes per session. FMS proficiency was tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, while SPC was measured using the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire. Testing was conducted three times (i.e., baseline, 7th-week, 13th-week). Repeated-measured ANCOVA was used to determine the effect of the intervention. RESULTS: At baseline, children with DCD showed poorer FMS and SPC than TD children. Post- intervention, the DCD-FMS group scored significantly higher in jumping (7th-week) and catching (both 7th-week and13rd-week) when compared to the DCD-C group (both p<.05). FMS training groups (DCD-FMS, TD-FMS) showed significantly higher self-perceived physical coordination, physical strength, and physical fitness than the control groups at 7 weeks post-intervention (all p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: FMS training can effectively improve jumping and catching in children with DCD and improved some SPC variables in both children with DCD and TD children.link_to_OA_fulltex

The effect of motor skills training on physical activity in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The 2014 Conference abstracts' website is located at http://acsmannualmeeting.org/educational-highlights/final-program-and-abstracts-2014/B-41 Free Communication/Poster - Physical Activity Interventions in Youth - Board #274: no. 859Regular physical activity (PA) contributes to the development of physical and psychological well-being in children. The mastery of motor skills is considered one of the potential factors that facilitate PA engagement. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are foundations for developing context-specific movements. Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) exhibit delays in motor skills including FMS and experience restrictions in PA participation. However, few studies have examined whether improvements in FMS proficiency promote PA engagement in children with DCD. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of FMS training on PA in children with DCD when compared to typically developing (TD) children. METHODS: Participants consist of 84 children (7-10 yrs) who were allocated into either FMS training (22 DCD-FMS, 17 TD-FMS) or control group who underwent regular physical education lessons (16 DCD-C, 29 TD-C). FMS training was conducted in a school setting for six weeks, twice per week and 35 minutes per session. FMS were tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-Second edition. PA was subsequently monitored using accelerometers over seven consecutive days. Each participant attended all scheduled tests three times (i.e., before intervention, 1-week post intervention, 6-week post intervention). Repeated-measured ANCOVA was used to determine the intervention effect utilizing baseline scores and other key confounders as covariates. RESULTS: The DCD-FMS group scored significantly better in jumping (1-week: 6.09±1.85 vs. 3.69±1.99, p<0.05) and catching (1-week: 5.23±0.87 vs. 4.19±1.64, p<0.05; 6-week: 5.45±0.72 vs. 4.31±1.58, p<0.05) than the DCD-C group. The TD-FMS group scored significantly poorer in jumping (1-week: 5.41±1.84 vs. 6.52±1.70, p<0.05) than the TD-C group. The DCD-FMS group showed significantly lower PA volume (393.06±64.50 vs. 431.72±87.53 counts/min, p<0.05) and spent more time in sedentary pursuits (52.54±6.55 vs. 50.40 ±7.22%, p<0.05) in the follow-up test than in the posttest. No significant difference in PA levels was found among groups. CONCLUSION: Children with DCD improved their FMS proficiency after receiving FMS training. However, the improvements in FMS performance in children with DCD did not transfer into improving their PA participation.link_to_OA_fulltex