Is Workstyle a Mediating Factor for Pain in the Upper Extremity Over Time?

Introduction Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders influence workers’ quality of life. Workstyle may be one factor to deal with in workers with pain in the upper extremity. The objective of this study was to determine if workstyle is a mediating factor for upper extremity pain in a changing work environment of office workers over time. Methods Office workers with upper extremity pain filled out a Workstyle questionnaire (WSF) at baseline (n = 110). After 8 and 12 months follow-up assessment took place. Participants were divided into a good and an adverse workstyle group at baseline. The presence of upper extremity pain in both groups was calculated and relative risks were determined. Chi-square tests were used. Results Eight months after baseline, 80% of the adverse and 45% of the good workstyle group reported pain. The relative risk (RR) of having upper extremity pain for the adverse compared to the good workstyle group was 1.8 (95% CI 1.08–2.86) (P = 0.055). Twelve months after baseline, upper extremity pain was more often presented in the adverse workstyle compared to the good workstyle group (RR = 3.0, (95% CI 1.76–5.11), P = 0.003). Twelve months after baseline, 100% of the adverse workstyle group and 33% of the good workstyle group reported pain in the upper extremity. Conclusion Workstyle seems to be a mediating factor for upper extremity pain in office workers in a changing work environment. It is recommended to assess workstyle among office workers with upper extremity pain, and to include workstyle behaviour in treatments

Which game narratives do adolescents of different gameplay and sociodemographic backgrounds prefer? a mixed-methods analysis

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate which narrative elements of digital game narratives are preferred by the general adolescent population, and to examine associations with gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and gameplay frequency. Further, the study aims to discuss how results can be translated to serious digital games. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adolescents were recruited through school to complete a survey on narrative preferences in digital games. The survey included questions on sociodemographic information, frequency of gameplay, and an open-ended question on what could be an appealing narrative for them. Data were analyzed in a mixed-methods approach, using thematic analysis and chi-square analyses to determine narrative preferences and the associations between game narrative elements and player characteristics (gender, SES, and frequency of gameplay). RESULTS: The sample consisted of 446 adolescents (12-15 years old) who described 30 narrative subthemes. Preferences included human characters as protagonists; nonhuman characters only as antagonists; realistic settings, such as public places or cities; and a strong conflict surrounding crime, catastrophe, or war. Girls more often than boys defined characters by their age, included avatars, located the narrative in private places, developed profession-related skills, and included a positive atmosphere. Adolescents of nonacademic education more often than adolescents of academic education defined characters by criminal actions. Infrequent players more often included human characters defined by their age than frequent players. After performing a Bonferroni correction, narrative preferences for several gender differences remained. CONCLUSION: Different narrative elements related to subgroups of adolescents by gender, SES, and frequency of gameplay. Customization of narratives in serious digital health games should be warranted for boys and girls; yet, further research is needed to specify how to address girls in particular

The importance of both setting and intensity of physical activity in relation to non-clinical anxiety and depression

Physical activity is associated with good physical and mental health. Current recommendations suggest that people should achieve 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week to gain health benefits. This activity may be accumulated in leisure time, in active commuting, at work or in the home. Here we look at the cross-sectional relationship between physical activity and mental health as measured by the HADS anxiety and depression scores in a sample of 1,742 participants from a Scottish general population survey. The participants were men and women in three age cohorts aged around 24, 44 and 64 years who, in 1995, were interviewed face to face and also self-completed the HADS depression and anxiety scale. Respondents reported their levels of physical activity at work, in the home and in leisure time; the intensities of activity were also determined. Physical activity was related to depression scores but not to anxiety scores. There was no relationship between work physical activity and depression score. Among women, depression score increased with each additional episode of vigorous home activity. In both sexes, depression score decreased with each additional episode of vigorous leisure activity, but among men the decrease in depression score with moderate leisure activity was reversed if a lot of moderate activity was undertaken. We have found a variable relationship between depression scores and various settings for physical activity. Researchers, policymakers and practitioners who are interested in the relationship between physical activity and mental health should take into account the setting for activity as well as frequency, duration and intensity of activity

A systematic review of correlates of sedentary behaviour in adults aged 18–65 years: a socio-ecological approach

Background: Recent research shows that sedentary behaviour is associated with adverse cardio-metabolic consequences even among those considered sufficiently physically active. In order to successfully develop interventions to address this unhealthy behaviour, factors that influence sedentariness need to be identified and fully understood. The aim of this review is to identify individual, social, environmental, and policy-related determinants or correlates of sedentary behaviours among adults aged 18-65 years. Methods: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science were searched for articles published between January 2000 and September 2015. The search strategy was based on four key elements and their synonyms: (a) sedentary behaviour (b) correlates (c) types of sedentary behaviours (d) types of correlates. Articles were included if information relating to sedentary behaviour in adults (18-65 years) was reported. Studies on samples selected by disease were excluded. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (PROSPERO 2014:CRD42014009823). Results: 74 original studies were identified out of 4041: 71 observational, two qualitative and one experimental study. Sedentary behaviour was primarily measured as self-reported screen leisure time and total sitting time. In 15 studies, objectively measured total sedentary time was reported: accelerometry (n = 14) and heart rate (n = 1). Individual level factors such as age, physical activity levels, body mass index, socio-economic status and mood were all significantly correlated with sedentariness. A trend towards increased amounts of leisure screen time was identified in those married or cohabiting while having children resulted in less total sitting time. Several environmental correlates were identified including proximity of green space, neighbourhood walkability and safety and weather. Conclusions: Results provide further evidence relating to several already recognised individual level factors and preliminary evidence relating to social and environmental factors that should be further investigated. Most studies relied upon cross-sectional design limiting causal inference and the heterogeneity of the sedentary measures prevented direct comparison of findings. Future research necessitates longitudinal study designs, exploration of policy-related factors, further exploration of environmental factors, analysis of inter-relationships between identified factors and better classification of sedentary behaviour domains

Mortality in GOLD stages of COPD and its dependence on symptoms of chronic bronchitis

BACKGROUND: The GOLD classification of COPD severity introduces a stage 0 (at risk) comprising individuals with productive cough and normal lung function. The aims of this study were to investigate total mortality risks in GOLD stages 0–4 with special focus on stage 0, and furthermore to assess the influence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis on mortality risks in GOLD stages 1–4. METHOD: Between 1974 and 1992, a total of 22 044 middle-aged individuals participated in a health screening, which included a spirometry as well as recording of respiratory symptoms and smoking habits. Individuals with comorbidity at baseline (diabetes, stroke, cancer, angina pectoris, or heart infarction) were excluded from the analyses. Hazard ratios (HR 95% CI) of total mortality were analyzed in GOLD stages 0–4 with individuals with normal lung function and without symptoms of chronic bronchitis as a reference group. HR:s in smoking individuals with symptoms of chronic bronchitis within the stages 1–4 were calculated with individuals with the same GOLD stage but without symptoms of chronic bronchitis as reference. RESULTS: The number of deaths was 3674 for men and 832 for women based on 352 324 and 150 050 person-years respectively. The proportion of smokers among men was 50% and among women 40%. Self reported comorbidity was present in 4.6% of the men and 6.6% of the women. Among smoking men, Stage 0 was associated with an increased mortality risk, HR; 1.65 (1.32–2.08), of similar magnitude as in stage 2, HR; 1.41 (1.31–1.70). The hazard ratio in stage 0 was significantly higher than in stage 1 HR; 1.13 (0.98–1.29). Among male smokers with stage 1; HR: 2.04 (1.34–3.11), and among female smokers with stage 2 disease; HR: 3.16 (1.38–7.23), increased HR:s were found in individuals with symptoms of chronic bronchitis as compared to those without symptoms of chronic bronchitis. CONCLUSION: Symptoms fulfilling the definition of chronic bronchitis were associated with an increased mortality risk among male smokers with normal pulmonary function (stage 0) and also with an increased risk of death among smoking individuals with mild to moderate COPD (stage 1 and 2)

Environmental volunteer well-being: managers’ perception and actual well-being of volunteers

Environmental volunteering is known to be able to increase well-being but environmental volunteer well-being has rarely been compared to participant well-being associated with other types of volunteering or nature-based activities. This paper aims to use a multidimensional approach to well-being to explore the immediately experienced and later remembered well-being of environmental volunteers and to compare this to the increased well-being of participants in other types of nature-based activities and volunteering. Furthermore, it aims to compare volunteer managers’ perception of their volunteers’ well-being with the self-reported well-being of the volunteers. Onsite surveys were conducted of practical conservation and biodiversity monitoring volunteers as well as their control groups, walkers and fieldwork students, respectively, to measure general well-being before their nature-based activity and activity-related well-being immediately after their activity. Online surveys of current, former and potential volunteers and volunteer managers in environmental volunteering and other types of volunteering measured remembered volunteering-related well-being and volunteer managers’ perceptions of their volunteers’ well-being. Data were analysed based on Seligman’s multidimensional PERMA (‘Positive emotion’, ‘Engagement’, ‘positive Relationship’, ‘Meaning’, ‘Achievement’) model of well-being. Factor analysis recovered three of the five PERMA elements, ‘engagement’, ‘relationship’ and ‘meaning’, as well as ‘negative emotion’ and ‘health’ as factors. Environmental volunteering significantly improved positive elements and significantly decreased negative elements of participants’ immediate well-being and it did so more than walking or student fieldwork did. Even remembering their volunteering up to six months later, volunteers rated their volunteering-related well-being higher than volunteers rated their well-being generally in life. However, volunteering was not found to have an effect on overall mean well-being generally in life. Volunteer managers did not perceive the significant increase in well-being that volunteers reported during volunteering. Multidimensional well-being assessments offer the potential for volunteer organisations and managers to more systematically understand, support and enhance volunteer well-being

Skeletal muscle properties and fatigue resistance in relation to smoking history

Although smoking-related diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are often accompanied by increased peripheral muscle fatigability, the extent to which this is a feature of the disease or a direct effect of smoking per se is not known. Skeletal muscle function was investigated in terms of maximal voluntary isometric torque, activation, contractile properties and fatigability, using electrically evoked contractions of the quadriceps muscle of 40 smokers [19 men and 21 women; mean (SD) cigarette pack years: 9.9 (10.7)] and age- and physical activity level matched non-smokers (22 men and 23 women). Maximal strength and isometric contractile speed did not differ significantly between smokers and non-smokers. Muscle fatigue (measured as torque decline during a series of repetitive contractions) was greater in smokers (P = 0.014), but did not correlate with cigarette pack years (r = 0.094, P = 0.615), cigarettes smoked per day (r = 10.092, P = 0.628), respiratory function (%FEV1pred) (r = −0.187, P = 0.416), or physical activity level (r = −0.029, P = 0.877). While muscle mass and contractile properties are similar in smokers and non-smokers, smokers do suffer from greater peripheral muscle fatigue. The observation that the cigarette smoking history did not correlate with fatigability suggests that the effect is either acute and/or reaches a ceiling, rather than being cumulative. An acute and reversible effect of smoking could be caused by carbon monoxide and/or other substances in smoke hampering oxygen delivery and mitochondrial function

Doing masculinity, not doing health? a qualitative study among dutch male employees about health beliefs and workplace physical activity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Being female is a strong predictor of health promoting behaviours. Workplaces show great potential for lifestyle interventions, but such interventions do not necessarily take the gendered background of lifestyle behaviours into account. A perspective analyzing how masculine gender norms affect health promoting behaviours is important. This study aims to explore men's health beliefs and attitudes towards health promotion; in particular, it explores workplace physical activity in relation to masculine ideals among male employees.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the Fall of 2008, we interviewed 13 white Dutch male employees aged 23-56 years. The men worked in a wide range of professions and occupational sectors and all interviewees had been offered a workplace physical activity program. Interviews lasted approximately one to one-and-a-half hour and addressed beliefs about health and lifestyle behaviours including workplace physical activity, as well as normative beliefs about masculinity. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two normative themes were found: first, the ideal man is equated with being a winner and real men are prepared to compete, and second, real men are not whiners and ideally, not vulnerable. Workplace physical activity is associated with a particular type of masculinity - young, occupied with looks, and interested in muscle building. Masculine norms are related to challenging health while taking care of health is feminine and, hence, something to avoid. Workplace physical activity is not framed as a health measure, and not mentioned as of importance to the work role.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Competitiveness and nonchalant attitudes towards health shape masculine ideals. In regards to workplace physical activity, some men resist what they perceive to be an emphasis on muscled looks, whereas for others it contributes to looking self-confident. In order to establish a greater reach among vulnerable employees such as ageing men, worksite health promotion programs including workplace physical activity may benefit from greater insight in the tensions between health behaviours and masculinity.</p

Risk factors for the onset and persistence of neck pain in undergraduate students: 1-year prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although neck pain is common in young adulthood, studies on predictive factors for its onset and persistence are scarce. It is therefore important to identify possible risk factors among young adults so as to prevent the development of neck pain later in life.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective study was carried out in healthy undergraduate students. At baseline, a self-administered questionnaire and standardized physical examination were used to collect data on biopsychosocial factors. At 3, 6, 9, and 12 months thereafter, follow-up data were collected on the incidence of neck pain. Those who reported neck pain on ≥ 2 consecutive follow-ups were categorized as having persistent neck pain. Two regression models were built to analyze risk factors for the onset and persistence of neck pain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the recruited sample of 684 students, 46% reported the onset of neck pain between baseline and 1-year follow-up, of whom 33% reported persistent neck pain. The onset of neck pain was associated with computer screen position not being level with the eyes and mouse position being self-rated as suitable. Factors that predicted persistence of neck pain were position of the keyboard being too high, use of computer for entertainment < 70% of total computer usage time, and students being in the second year of their studies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Neck pain is quite common among undergraduate students. This study found very few proposed risk factors that predicted onset and persistence of neck pain. The future health of undergraduate students deserves consideration. However, there is still much uncertainty about factors leading to neck pain and more research is needed on this topic.</p