Recreational physical activity in postmenopausal women is stable over 8 years of follow-up.

BackgroundThe goals of this study were to examine 1) longitudinal trajectories of energy expenditure from recreational physical activity (PA) in postmenopausal women, 2) whether women who belong to different PA trajectories engage in different types of PA, and 3) whether baseline sociodemographic, health, psychosocial, and lifestyle characteristics predict membership in PA trajectories.MethodsWomen from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study with baseline PA data (n = 92,629) were included. Physical activity, measured via self-report 6 times over 8 years, was converted to MET hr/wk for analysis. Latent growth curve mixture models and latent profile models were used to analyze longitudinal PA trajectories and cross-sectional PA composition, respectively.ResultsThree distinct, stable PA trajectories (highly, moderately, and minimally active) were identified with nearly 75% of the women classified as minimally active (≤ 8 MET-hr/wk). The majority of women who were at least moderately active engaged in a balanced combination of walking, moderate, and vigorous PA. Sociodemographic characteristics such as income, education, and past vigorous PA were predictive of PA trajectory, as were some health status indicators (eg, body mass index), but not health related quality of life.ConclusionsSelf-reported PA is largely stable across nearly a decade of follow-up in postmenopausal women

Randomized trial of telephone versus in-person delivery of a brief psychosocial intervention in post-stroke depression

Abstract Background A psychosocial behavioral intervention delivered in-person by advanced practice nurses has been shown effective in substantially reducing post-stroke depression (PSD). This follow-up trial compared the effectiveness of a shortened intervention delivered by either telephone or in-person to usual care. To our knowledge, this is the first of current behavioral therapy trials to expand the protocol in a new clinical sample. 100 people with Geriatric Depression Scores ≥ 11 were randomized within 4 months of stroke to usual care (N = 28), telephone intervention (N = 37), or in-person intervention (N = 35). Primary outcome was response [percent reduction in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)] and remission (HDRS score < 10) at 8 weeks and 12 months post treatment. Results Intervention groups were combined for the primary analysis (pre-planned). The mean response in HDRS scores was 39% reduction for the combined intervention group (40% in-person; 38% telephone groups) versus 33% for the usual care group at 8 weeks (p = 0.3). Remission occurred in 37% in the combined intervention groups at 8 weeks versus 27% in the control group (p = 0.3) and 44% intervention versus 36% control at 12 months (p = 0.5). While favouring the intervention, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions A brief psychosocial intervention for PSD delivered by telephone or in-person did not reduce depression significantly more than usual care. However, the comparable effectiveness of telephone and in-person follow-up for treatment of depression found is important given greater accessibility by telephone and mandated post-hospital follow-up for comprehensive stroke centers. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://register.clinicaltrials.gov , unique identifier: NCT01133106, Registered 5/26/201