The association between leisure-time physical activity and lung function in older adults: The English longitudinal study of ageing

The longitudinal association between physical activity and lung function is unclear. Therefore, we examined said association over eight years. This study included data from 2,966 participants in English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (63±7 years [mean±SD]), a prospective study of initially healthy, community dwelling adults. Physical activity was assessed using an interview and lung function using a spirometer at baseline (2004-5) and follow-up (2012-13). General linear regression was used to assess associations between activity and lung function. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of new cases of abnormal lung function. Some 14% of participants were defined as physically inactive at baseline, 50% were classified into the moderate group, and 36% into the vigorous group. In comparison with remaining inactive at follow-up, remaining active was positively associated with forced vital capacity (FVC) (β=0.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01, 0.17; p=0.02) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV-1) (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.15; p=0.01) after adjustment for baseline lung function score and other covariates. Using the fifth centile to define the lower limit of normal (that is, -1.64 z scores), there were lower odds of incident abnormal lung function in participants who remained physically active compared to those who remained inactive (FVC odds ratio=0.31, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.55. FEV-1 odds ratio=0.43, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.72). Similar associations were observed in those who became active. This study suggests that remaining physically active or becoming active in older age are positively associated with lung function and reduced odds of abnormal lung function

Sarcopenic obesity, weight loss, and mortality: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Background: Age-related sarcopenia describes loss of muscle strength and often accompanies an increase in adiposity in elderly participants. Objectives: We examined the association of sarcopenic obesity, and changes in muscle strength and weight with risk of mortality. Design: Participants were 6,864 community dwelling men and women (mean±SD age 66.2 ± 6 9.5 years, 45.6% men) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Handgrip strength and body mass index were measured at baseline and at four years follow-up. Individual participant data were linked with death records from National Health Service registries. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as obese individuals (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m2) in the lowest tertile of sex specific grip strength (<35.3 kg men; < 19.6kg women). Results: Over an average follow up of 8 years there were 906 deaths. Compared with the reference group (normal BMI and highest hand grip tertile), the risk of all-cause mortality increased with reducing grip strength within each BMI category. For participants in the lowest hand grip tertile there was little difference in risk between normal BMI (Hazard ratio=3.25; 95% CI, 1.86, 5.65), overweight (2.50;1.44, 4.35), and obese (2.66; 1.86, 3.80), after adjustment for covariates. Compared to participants with stable weight and grip strength, risk of all-cause mortality was significantly greater in those experiencing weight loss over 4 years (2.21;1.32, 3.71) and reduced hand grip strength (1.53;1.07, 2.17), with the highest risk in those with weight loss and reduced strength (3.77; 2.54, 5.60). Conclusion: Sarcopenic obesity did not confer any greater risk than sarcopenia alone. Weight loss in combination with sarcopenia presented the greatest risk of mortality

Reply to Wang: chronic disease and handgrip strength

Reply to Wang: chronic disease and handgrip strengt

Is ‘weekend only’ physical activity enough to compensate for a sedentary lifestyle? - Reply.

Is ‘weekend only’ physical activity enough to compensate for a sedentary lifestyle? - Reply

Association between physical activity and sub-types of cardiovascular disease death causes in a general population cohort

Physical activity is thought to be cardioprotective, but associations with different subtypes of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are poorly understood. We examined associations between physical activity and seven major CVD death causes. The sample comprised 65,093 adults (aged 58 ±12 years, 45.4% men) followed up over mean [SD] 9.4±4.5 years, recruited from The Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Surveys. A CVD diagnosis was reported in 9.2% of the sample at baseline. Physical activity was self-reported. Outcomes were subtypes of CVD death; acute myocardial infarction; chronic ischaemic heart disease; pulmonary heart disease; a composite of cardiac arrest, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death; heart failure; cerebrovascular; composite of aortic aneurysm and other peripheral vascular diseases. There were 3,050 CVD deaths (30.8% of all deaths). In Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for confounders, physical activity was associated with reduced relative risk of all CVD outcomes; compared with the lowest, the highest physical activity quintile was associated with reduced risk of acute myocardial infarction (Hazard ratio: 0.66 , 95% CI, 0.50, 0.89), chronic ischaemic heart disease (0.49: 0.38, 0.64), pulmonary heart disease (0.48: 0.22, 1.07), arrhythmias (0.18: 0.04, 0.76); heart failure (0.35: 0.20, 0.63), cerebrovascular events (0.53: 0.38, 0.75); aneurysm and peripheral vascular diseases (0.54: 0.34, 0.93). Results were largely consistent across participants with and without existing CVD at baseline. Physical activity was associated with reduced risk of seven major CVD death causes. Protective benefits were apparent even at levels of activity below the current recommendations

Associations between alcohol and obesity in more than 100,000 adults in England and Scotland

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to clarify the association between alcohol and obesity using data from 106,182 adults in England and Scotland (46.7% male; 46.9±16.9 years [mean±SD]). Trained interviewers asked participants about alcohol intake. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥ 30 kg·m-2. Potential confounders included age, sex, smoking, physical activity, longstanding illness, psychological distress, and socioeconomic status. Compared with those who drank at least five times a week, obesity risk was 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.15, 1.27) in those who drank one to four times a week, 1.53 (1.43, 1.62) in those who drank one to two times a month, 1.61 (1.52, 1.71) in those who drank less than once every couple of months, 1.34 (1.23, 1.47) in those who were former drinkers, and 1.03 (0.95, 1.11) in those who were never drinkers. Compared with those who drank a harmful volume, obesity risk was 0.78 (0.68, 0.90) in those who drank within guidelines, 0.69 (0.54, 0.88) in former drinkers, and 0.50 (0.40, 0.63) in never drinkers; And, these associations were biased away from the null after adjustment for drinking volume. Abstinence was associated with increased risk of obesity in women. These data suggest that the association between drinking frequency and obesity is bell-shaped, with obesity risk not significantly different in those who drink most often and never drinkers. Drinking volume has a positive confounding effect on the association between drinking frequency and obesity, which may help explain the conflicting findings of other studies

Relationships between exercise, smoking habit and mortality in more than 100,000 adults

Exercise is associated with reduced risks of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality; however, the benefits in smokers and ex-smokers are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between exercise, smoking habit and mortality. Self-reported exercise and smoking, and all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality were assessed in 106,341 adults in the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey. There were 9149 deaths from all causes, 2839 from CVD, and 2634 from cancer during 999,948 person-years of follow-up. Greater amounts of exercise were associated with decreases and greater amounts of smoking were associated with increases in the risks of mortality from all causes, CVD and cancer. There was no statistically significant evidence of biological interaction; rather, the relative risks of all-cause mortality were additive. In the subgroup of 26,768 ex-smokers, the all-cause mortality hazard ratio was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.60, 0.80), the CVD mortality hazard ratio was 0.71 (0.55, 092), and the cancer mortality hazard ratio was 0.66 (0.52, 0.84) in those who exercised compared to those who did not. In the subgroup of 28,440 smokers, the all-cause mortality hazard ratio was 0.69 (0.57, 0.83), the CVD mortality hazard ratio was 0.66 (0.45, 0.96), and the cancer mortality hazard ratio was 0.69 (0.51, 0.94) in those who exercised compared to those who did not. Given that an outright ban is unlikely, this study is important because it suggests exercise reduces the risks of all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality by around 30% in smokers and ex-smokers

High density lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality: too much of a good thing?

Objective: To examine the shape of the association between high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and mortality in a large general population sample. Approach and results: Adult participants (n=37,059, age= 57.7±11.9 years, 46.8% men) were recruited from general population household-based surveys (Health Survey for England and Scottish Health Survey). Individual participant data were linked with the British National Health Service Central Registry to record mortality. There were 2,250 deaths from all causes during 326,016 person-years of follow-up. When compared to the reference category (HDL-C = 1.5 – 1.99 mmol·L-1) a U-shaped association was apparent for all-cause mortality, with elevated risk in participants with the lowest (Hazard ratio=1.23, 95% CI, 1.06, 1.44) and highest (1.25; 0.97, 1.62) HDL-C concentration. Associations for cardiovascular disease were linear, and elevated risk was observed in those with the lowest HDL-C concentration (1.49; 1.15, 1.94). Conclusions: A U-shaped association was observed between HDL-C and mortality in a large general population sample

Lifestyle risk factors, obesity and infectious disease mortality in the general population: Linkage study of 97,844 adults from England and Scotland

We examined associations between lifestyle variables and infectious disease mortality in a large general population cohort. A sample of 97,844 men and women (aged 47.1 ± 17.7 yrs.; 46.6% male) recruited from general population, household-based surveys were followed up over mean [SD] 9.4 ± 4.5 years. Exposure measurements included self-reported physical activity, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, and objective body mass index and waist to hip ratio. There were 9027 deaths, of which 14.1% were attributed to infectious diseases. Compared to physically inactive participants both insufficiently active (Hazard ratio = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.50, 0.75) and sufficiently active (at least 150 min/wk. moderate – vigorous activity) (0.60; 0.45, 0.78) was associated with reduced risk of infectious disease mortality in models mutually adjusted for other lifestyle factors. Ex-smokers and current smokers were at increased risk of infectious disease mortality compared with never smoker, with the strongest associations being observed for heavy smoking (>20 cigarettes/day) and pneumonia (3.30; 2.35, 4.63). Underweight was associated with increased risk of infectious disease mortality (3.65; 2.64, 5.06) compared with normal weight; the risk of viral infection was lower in overweight (0.56; 0.44, 0.72) and obesity (0.39; 0.26, 0.58). Central obesity was, however, related to higher risk of bacterial infections, but only in normal weight centrally obese participants (1.71; 1.10, 2.64). A physically active lifestyle and lifelong absence from cigarette smoking had protective associations against infectious disease mortality. Obesity has divergent associations dependent on peripheral and visceral fat depots, and the specific outcome

A note on cusp forms and representations of SL2(Fp)\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)

Cusp forms are certain holomorphic functions defined on the upper half-plane, and the space of cusp forms for the principal congruence subgroup $\Gamma(p)$, $p$ a prime, is acted by $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)$. Meanwhile, there is a finite field incarnation of the upper half-plane, the Deligne--Lusztig (or Drinfeld) curve, whose cohomology space is also acted by $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)$. In this note we study the relation between these two spaces in the weight $2$ case.Comment: 8 page