Activity Monitor Intervention to Promote Physical Activity of Physicians-In-Training: Randomized Controlled Trial

<div><p>Background</p><p>Physicians are expected to serve as role models for healthy lifestyles, but long work hours reduce time for healthy behaviors. A hospital-based physical activity intervention could improve physician health and increase counseling about exercise.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We conducted a two-phase intervention among 104 medical residents at a large hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Phase 1 was a 6-week randomized controlled trial comparing daily steps of residents assigned to an activity monitor displaying feedback about steps and energy consumed (intervention) or to a blinded monitor (control). Phase 2 immediately followed and was a 6-week non-randomized team steps competition in which all participants wore monitors with feedback. Phase 1 outcomes were: 1) median steps/day and 2) proportion of days activity monitor worn. The Phase 2 outcome was mean steps/day on days monitor worn (≥500 steps/day). Physiologic measurements were collected at baseline and study end. Median steps/day were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Mean steps were compared using repeated measures regression analyses.</p><p>Results</p><p>In Phase 1, intervention and control groups had similar activity (6369 vs. 6063 steps/day, p = 0.16) and compliance with wearing the monitor (77% vs. 77% of days, p = 0.73). In Phase 2 (team competition), residents recorded more steps/day than during Phase 1 (Control: 7,971 vs. 7,567, p = 0.002; Intervention: 7,832 vs. 7,739, p = 0.13). Mean compliance with wearing the activity monitor decreased for both groups during Phase 2 compared to Phase 1 (60% vs. 77%, p<0.001). Mean systolic blood pressure decreased (p = 0.004) and HDL cholesterol increased (p<0.001) among all participants at end of study compared to baseline.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Although the activity monitor intervention did not have a major impact on activity or health, the high participation rates of busy residents and modest changes in steps, blood pressure, and HDL suggest that more intensive hospital-based wellness programs have potential for promoting healthier lifestyles among physicians.</p><p>Trial Registration</p><p>Clinicaltrials.gov <a href="http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT01287208?term=NCT01287208&rank=1" target="_blank">NCT01287208</a>.</p></div

Change in body composition, blood pressure, and lipids at baseline and end of the study.

<p>SD = standard deviation; IQR = interquartile range.</p><p>*Weight and BMI data available at baseline and end of study for 91 residents.</p>†<p>Waist and self-reported exercise available at baseline and end of study for 87 residents.</p>‡<p>Blood pressure available at baseline and end of study for 81 residents.</p>§<p>Fasting cholesterol available at baseline and end of study for 67 residents.</p

Baseline characteristics of residents.

<p>Baseline characteristics of residents.</p

Resident activity levels and compliance with wearing activity monitor by study arm over 12 weeks.

<p>Activity levels are the number of steps taken on days when steps were recorded (>500 steps/day). Compliance is the mean percentage of days residents wore the activity monitor per week.</p

Study flow diagram.

<p>Study flow diagram.</p

Median steps per day and compliance with wearing activity monitor during the 6-week randomized phase.

<p>IQR = interquartile range; SD = standard deviation.</p><p>*Residents in intervention group wore an unblinded monitor (with visual activity feedback) during both Phase 1 (randomized) and Phase 2 (team competition).</p>†<p>Residents in the control group wore a blinded monitor (no feedback) during Phase 1 and an unblinded monitor during Phase 2.</p

Activity levels during inpatient and outpatient rotations over 12 weeks.

<p>Activity levels are the number of steps taken on days when steps were recorded (>500 steps/day) when residents were on inpatient or outpatient rotations.</p

Supplemental Material, DS6_VET_10.1177_0300985818780449 - Idiopathic Colitis in Rhesus Macaques Is Associated With Dysbiosis, Abundant Enterochromaffin Cells and Altered T-Cell Cytokine Expression

<p>Supplemental Material, DS6_VET_10.1177_0300985818780449 for Idiopathic Colitis in Rhesus Macaques Is Associated With Dysbiosis, Abundant Enterochromaffin Cells and Altered T-Cell Cytokine Expression by Steven T. Laing, David Merriam, Barbara C. Shock, Sarah Mills, Abbie Spinner, Rachel Reader, and Dennis J. Hartigan-O’Connor in Veterinary Pathology</p

Pla de detall de l'escriptor nord-americà Vernor Vigne durant la seva conferència en l'acte de la 12a edició dels Premis UPC de Ciència-ficció

<p><b>Comparison of the performance of the hashtag <i>#colorectalcancer</i> in two different 6-month time-frames: July 2015 –December 2015 (2A) and January 2016 –July 2016 (2B).</b> The number of tweets reached 16860 in the last months, compared with the 5001 recorded in the previous period. Participants in discussions including the hashtag were three times higher during the last months, with over 136 million impressions (almost 5 times more). The Mayo Clinic official account was the first in both Mentions and Impressions over the last months, followed by medical associations and Institutions. It is worth noting that eight out of ten accounts which were in the top list in terms of mentions during the last months belong to renewed CRC Institutions and Centres (e.g. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC @cdc_cancer, Mayo Clinic @mayoclinic and @mayocancercare), Scientific Societies (American College of Gastroenterology ACG @amcollegegastro), and Scientific Journals (e.g. JAMA, @jama_current), whereas one belongs to a fundraising organization (Stand Up to Cancer @su2c) another one to a Pharmaceutical Company (Boehringer Ingelheim @boehringer). This suggests that, irrespective of who are the most active tweeters, the quality of the tweets can be Scientifically relevant and true[<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0183031#pone.0183031.ref008" target="_blank">8</a>]. (reprinted from Symplur LCC under a CC BY license, with permission from Thomas M.Lee, Co-Founder, Symplur, LLC, original copyright 2016, <a href="http://www.symplur.com/" target="_blank">http://www.symplur.com</a>).</p

Supplemental Material, DS5_VET_10.1177_0300985818780449 - Idiopathic Colitis in Rhesus Macaques Is Associated With Dysbiosis, Abundant Enterochromaffin Cells and Altered T-Cell Cytokine Expression

<p>Supplemental Material, DS5_VET_10.1177_0300985818780449 for Idiopathic Colitis in Rhesus Macaques Is Associated With Dysbiosis, Abundant Enterochromaffin Cells and Altered T-Cell Cytokine Expression by Steven T. Laing, David Merriam, Barbara C. Shock, Sarah Mills, Abbie Spinner, Rachel Reader, and Dennis J. Hartigan-O’Connor in Veterinary Pathology</p