Publications by authors named "Ernesto De-la-Cruz-Sanchez"
Background: Socioeconomic inequalities significantly impact the accessibility of resources necessary for physical activity, thereby influencing overall physical activity levels and contributing to broader health disparities. Nevertheless, evidence is lacking on quantifying the increase of people who would be physically active through reducing inequalities by a higher socioeconomic position.
Methods: We conducted secondary data analysis on the 2017 cross-sectional survey of the European Union's population aged ≥18 years (n = 27,538).
Article Synopsis
- * The study determined PCOS diagnoses based on Rotterdam criteria and used a food frequency questionnaire to assess coffee intake, categorizing it as none, less than one cup, one cup, or two or more cups per day.
- * Findings indicated that higher coffee intake was associated with a lower likelihood of having PCOS; women with PCOS were significantly less likely to drink one cup of coffee daily compared to non-drinkers, suggesting coffee may help alleviate PC
The 2008 economic recession may have affected health-related indicators differently depending on the living environment. We analyze health-related indicators in Spain using data from four Spanish health surveys (2006, 2011, 2014, and 2017, 95 924 individuals aged ≥16 years). In 2006-2011, physical activity decreased among men and women, while in 2006-2017, physical activity only decreased among urban women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrban-rural disparities in resources, services and facilities not only impact daily living conditions but also contribute to inequalities in physical activity, which may be associated with variations in basic public resources between urban and rural areas. This study aims to examine the evolution of perceived opportunities for physical activity in European urban and rural environments from 2002 to 2017 and their association with an active lifestyle. Data from four waves (2002, 2005, 2013 and 2017) of cross-sectional Eurobarometer surveys were collected (n = 101 373), and multilevel binomial logistic regressions were conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Misinformation hampers vaccine uptake. The European Union (EU) employed a coordinated effort to curb misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, we investigated relationships between sources of information, vaccine safety/effectiveness, satisfaction with government vaccination strategy, and vaccination intent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmotions and memory formation are sensible to circadian rhythm. Here we study whether the time of day during the light phase of the diurnal cycle affects emotional memory in male Wistar rats using the passive avoidance (PA) test. Experiments were conducted at the beginning of Zeitgeber time (ZT) (ZT0.
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- The study analyzed data from over 33,000 individuals aged 18 and older, exploring the impact of beer consumption on health outcomes using the 2012 and 2017 National Health Surveys.
- Results showed that occasional and moderate beer drinkers reported better mental and emotional health, social support, and fewer physical limitations compared to those who abstained from alcohol.
- Conversely, former drinkers experienced worse health indicators than abstainers, indicating a J-shaped relationship where moderate beer consumption is associated with improved health outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and both physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB), revealing that lower SES correlates with less PA, but the relationship with SB is less clear.
- - Using data from the Eurobarometer 2017, the research finds that individuals with higher SES report more PA; however, they also tend to have longer sitting times despite their higher educational levels and occupations.
- - The results show significant socioeconomic inequalities in vigorous and moderate activities, with greater disparities in lower SES groups compared to higher ones, highlighting that higher SES groups may have paradoxically more active lifestyles alongside increased sedentary time.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity, suggesting that SES impacts health-related lifestyles such as diet and exercise.
- Data from Spanish health surveys reveals that higher SES is associated with lower obesity rates and healthier lifestyle choices in both men and women.
- The findings indicate that while SES influences obesity through lifestyle clustering, other factors also play a role in this complex relationship, especially in men.
Exploring the Role of Physical Activity in Mediating the Association between Educational Level and Health-Related Quality of Life in an Adult Lifespan Sample from Madeira Island.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
June 2022
Article Synopsis
- - People with lower socioeconomic status (SES) generally have a worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and this study investigates how physical activity (PA) influences that relationship.
- - The research involved 381 adults from Madeira and used mediation analysis to assess how SES affects HRQoL through various PA domains, with HRQoL measured by scores from the SF-12 questionnaire.
- - Findings indicate that higher educational levels improved HRQoL, while sports PA played a significant role in mitigating the negative impact of low SES on HRQoL, reducing the socioeconomic gradient for both physical and mental health scores.
Article Synopsis
- - The study explores the training intensities of female professional soccer players, comparing them to actual game conditions and analyzing factors like player position and training type across 18 participants.
- - Researchers found that training sessions were mainly based on small-sided games, leading to a medium-high subjective external intensity, while actual matches had a very high intensity rating.
- - By using motion devices and heart rate monitors, the study revealed positional differences: defenders had fewer accelerations but higher heart rates, while wingbacks had more dynamic movements, and wingers maintained the lowest heart rate during matches.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers analyzed data from three sources, including the World Health Organization and Olympic sport participation, covering millions of individuals across multiple countries to gauge the impact of gender inequality on PA.
- * Results indicate that lower gender inequality leads to increased physical activity for both women and men, suggesting that improving women's living conditions could enhance their involvement in physical activities and sports.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate fat mass distribution throughout pregnancy by analyzing changes in anthropometric measurements in a sample of 208 pregnant women.
- Researchers followed the ISAK protocol during all three trimesters and utilized a generalized linear model to assess differences in measurements over time.
- Results indicated a consistent increase in skinfold thickness (SFT) across various body areas during pregnancy, suggesting that reliable anthropometric measurements could help reduce the risk of negative pregnancy outcomes.
Here we evaluate the time trends of urban-rural differences in physical activity in the European Union between 2002 and 2017 and the contribution of urbanization on total physical activity changes, using four Eurobarometer surveys (n = 101,373). Trajectories of urban-rural differences in physical activity varied considerably among EU-28 countries. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that inactivity increased in both urban and rural settings, although it was higher in the latter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBody Composition and Characterization of Skinfold Thicknesses from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Phenotypes. A Preliminar Case-Control Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2021
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted to analyze the differences in body composition and skinfold thicknesses among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared to those without the condition, involving 117 diagnosed cases.
- Findings showed that women with PCOS had higher body mass index, fat mass, and skinfold thickness measurements across various regions compared to controls.
- The study concluded that different PCOS phenotypes exhibit distinct body composition characteristics, particularly the H-O-POM phenotype, which has potential implications for clinical evaluation and follow-up, indicating the need for further research.
Article Synopsis
- - The text explores how social determinants, specifically educational attainment and occupational social class, impact health outcomes, highlighting the concept of the social gradient of health.
- - Researchers analyzed data from four large Spanish surveys to identify clusters of health-related lifestyle behaviors based on sociodemographic factors, incorporating both education and social class.
- - Findings reveal that higher education and social class correlate with healthier lifestyles; women's unhealthy behaviors tend to cluster with less education, while education significantly influences health behaviors regardless of social class.
Article Synopsis
- Physical activity is linked to better overall well-being in people with musculoskeletal diseases, highlighting its importance in health management.
- The study utilized data from the 2014 European Health Survey for Spain, examining how factors like diet, substance use, and health indicators impact physical activity among this population.
- Findings suggest that healthier eating habits, like increased fruit and vegetable intake and moderate alcohol consumption, are associated with higher physical activity levels, while smoking is more prevalent among inactive individuals.
Physical activity barriers according to social stratification in Europe.
Int J Public Health
November 2020
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze how social stratification affects physical activity levels and barriers among Europeans.
- Data was collected from a 2017 Eurobarometer survey involving over 28,000 individuals aged 15 and older.
- Results showed that lower social classes had a significantly higher inactivity prevalence and faced more barriers to physical activity compared to higher social classes, suggesting the need for targeted public health strategies.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated how the time of day affects habituation in an open-field test, which assesses basic learning in young adult male Wistar rats.
- Results showed that while no significant differences were found during the initial acquisition phase, habituation levels increased from the beginning to the end of the light period, indicating a temporal influence on learning.
- The analysis identified two main components related to behaviors (like ambulation and grooming), suggesting that various behaviors and their correlations change throughout the day, impacting habituation during the test.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how economic recessions have a long-term impact on health-related lifestyles and medical attendance among different socioeconomic groups in Spain, using data from the Spanish National Health Survey across three years: 2006, 2012, and 2017.
- Findings indicate that, during the recession, there was a noticeable increase in good self-perceived health across all groups, but socioeconomic disparities in smoking, physical activity, and diet also widened between high and low groups.
- The research highlights significant increases in women's gynaecological attendance, particularly for cytology tests, across socioeconomic groups, underscoring the need for targeted health policies to address ongoing health inequalities following economic downturns.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to understand how residing in urban or rural areas affects physical activity levels among schoolchildren transitioning from Primary to Secondary Education.
- It involved 542 students, aged 11 to 13, who completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) at two different points in their education.
- Results showed that while there were significant drops in physical activity during this transition, the place of residence (urban vs. rural) did not significantly influence activity levels, indicating a broader trend towards sedentarism.
Concurrent and Convergent Validity of a Single, Brief Question for Physical Activity Assessment.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2020
Article Synopsis
- A variety of self-reported methods are used to measure physical activity (PA), but simpler questions could be more effective in clinical and public health settings.
- A study involving 55,950 participants assessed the effectiveness of a single brief question against the longer International Physical Activity Questionnaire to determine PA compliance.
- Results showed that those who are more active daily met the recommended PA guidelines, while less frequent exercisers did not, suggesting that a single-question approach can still accurately gauge adherence to PA guidelines.
The study of the contextual variables that affect soccer performance is important to be able to reproduce the competition context during the training sessions. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of match outcome as related to goal difference (large win, >2 goals, LW; narrow win, 1-2 goals, NW; drawing, D; narrow loss, 1-2 goals, NL; or large loss, >2 goals, LL), match location (home, H; away, A; neutral, N), type of competition (international, INT; national, NAT; friendly, F), phase of the season (summer preseason, SPS; in-season 1, IS1; winter preseason, WPS; in-season 2), and the field surface (natural grass, NG; artificial turf, TF) on the change of direction (COD) and centripetal force (CentF) generated during official games. Thirty male elite-level soccer players (age: 26.
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- This study investigates how different strength training loads and effort levels affect muscle oxygen saturation in the lower limbs during back-squat exercises.
- Conducted with 12 male participants, it employed various training stimuli to assess oxygen saturation changes, reoxygenation time, and propulsive velocity loss using advanced measurement techniques.
- Results showed that higher effort levels linked to poorer muscle oxygenation and longer reoxygenation times, suggesting that monitoring these oxygen saturation metrics can help better understand muscle fatigue during resistance training.
Article Synopsis
- Smoking rates in Spain decreased by 3.13% from 2009 to 2012 and by 4.81% from 2009 to 2017, influenced by legal restrictions on tobacco use.
- The study found that smokers had higher odds of presenting multiple health-related risk factors, such as poor self-perceived health, unhealthy weight, and low physical activity, with the odds increasing each survey year.
- The overall conclusion is that while smoking prevalence is declining, smokers continue to lead unhealthier lifestyles compared to non-smokers or former smokers.