Effects of a short health education intervention on physical activity, arterial stiffness and cardiac autonomic function in individuals with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of a short health education and counseling intervention program, in a primary healthcare setting, on daily physical activity (PA), arterial stiffness, and cardiac autonomic function in individuals with moderate-to-high risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods: This was a parallel-group study with a 4-month-long intervention, plus 8 months of follow-up. 164 individuals with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk were allocated to either an intervention (n = 87) or a control group (n = 77). The intervention consisted of 3 walking and face-to-face group sessions plus text messages. Primary outcome was daily PA (sedentary time, light and moderate-to-vigorous PA, all in min/day); secondary outcomes were arterial stiffness i.e., carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV, m/s)] and cardiac autonomic function [(i.e., standard deviation of all N-N intervals (SDNN, ms) and absolute high frequency (HF, ms2)]. Results: There were not significant group*time interactions for sedentary time [−7.4 (7.6); p = 0.331)], light PA [4.4 (6.4); p = 0.491] or moderate-to-vigorous PA [0.1 (2.6); p = 0.938]. Considering secondary outcomes, there were not significant group*time interactions for cfPWV [0.09 (0.18); p = 0.592], Ln_SDNN [0.09 (0.06); p = 0.148], or Ln_HF [0.16 (0.14); p = 0.263]. Conclusion: The program did not improve daily PA, arterial stiffness, or the autonomic cardiac function. Practice Implications: Primary care staff should consider longer or other types of intervention to improve daily PA.publishe

Dor musculosquelética lombar e qualidade de vida em praticantes de musculação

A prática de musculação aparece ligada a benefícios para a saúde e bem-estar, mas também surge associada a queixas de dor musculoesquelética lombar (Scriven et al., 2004), podendo estas ter impacto na participação ocupacional e na qualidade de vida (QdV). A terapia ocupacional, tanto numa perspetiva de prevenção como de intervenção, visa a promoção da participação ocupacional e da qualidade de vida (Gomes et al., 2004).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Qualidade do sono e dor lombar inespecífica em trabalhadores portugueses

 O sono tem um papel fundamental na saúde e no desempenho das atividades de vida diária, tal como o trabalho, e podem ser comprometidos pela dor. A dor lombar inespecífica tem sido referida como uma das maiores justificações para a incapacidade no trabalho.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Alterações na composição corporal de meninos submetidos a um programa de treinamento de força

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Portable Digital Monitoring System for Sarcopenia Screening and Diagnosis

Sarcopenia is a well-known highly prevalent muscle disease that severely impairs overall physical performance in elders, inducing a massive health-related economic burden. The widespread screening, diagnosis and treatment of sarcopenia are pivotal to restrain the disease progression and constrain its societal impact. Simple-to-use, portable, and reliable methods to evaluate sarcopenia are scarce, and sarcopenia-related assessments are typically done in several time-consuming stages. This study presents a portable digital system that enables a simple and intuitive method to evaluate sarcopenia—based on the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) algorithm—including the four Find-Assess-Confirm-Severity (FACS) steps. The system comprises a mobile application (app); two wireless devices: a dynamometer (Gripwise) and a skinfold caliper (Lipowise); and a back-end website. To find cases, the SARC-F questionnaire is applied. To assess sarcopenia, the handgrip strength and the sit-to-stand tests are performed with the Gripwise and an application-embedded stopwatch, respectively. To confirm cases, anthropometric measures are performed, and muscle quantity is estimated with Lipowise. Finally, to assess severity, the app stopwatch grants the gait speed test application, evaluating physical performance. This step-by-step sarcopenia assessment results in a final grading according to the cut-off points of the EWGSOP2 criteria. All data is automatically encrypted and exported into a GDPR-compliant cloud platform, in which healthcare professionals can access and monitor their patients through the internet

Alterações na composição corporal de meninos submetidos a um programa de treinamento de força

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