Publications by authors named "Miranda E G Armstrong"

Background: Physical activity engagement following a cancer diagnosis is positively associated with survival, reduced risk of disease recurrence, and reduced cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. However, rates of physical activity engagement are low among individuals diagnosed with and being treated for breast cancer or prostate cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the systematic process of developing an e-cycling intervention aimed at increasing physical activity among individuals living with prostate cancer or breast cancer and outline the key components to be implemented.

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Aims: This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Meals on Wheels (MoWs) service users (SUs), and people who refer them to MoWs ('referrers'), with accessing and commencing the service in England, the barriers that might hinder service uptake, and what information would be valued when considering accessing the service.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted in May-July 2022 with seven SUs and 21 referrers, recruited from four MoWs providers across England. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

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Background: Meals on Wheels (MoWs) could help adults with care and support needs continue living independently. However, many people are not aware that the service still exists in England, or that it could provide benefits beyond nutrition.

Objective: Working with an existing advisory group of six people with lived experience of MoWs (an adult who uses MoWs and people who have referred a family member to MoWs), this work aimed to co-produce knowledge translation resources (two infographics and a film) to raise awareness of MoWs and their benefits.

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We investigated the association between dietary intake and metabolic risk factors in children and adolescents within a semi-rural Malaysian community. Using an interviewer-led questionnaire, we surveyed 623 participants aged 7-18 from the South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO). Anthropometric and blood pressure data were collected from all participants, while a subset (n = 162) provided blood samples for biomarker analysis, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

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Background: Quantifying movement behaviours over 24-hours enables the combined effects of and inter-relations between sleep, sedentary time and physical activity (PA) to be understood. This is the first study describing 24-hour movement behaviours in school-aged children and adolescents in South-East Asia. Further aims were to investigate between-participant differences in movement behaviours by demographic characteristics and timing of data collection during Ramadan and COVID-19 restrictions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Analysis of physical activity's impact on all-cause mortality was conducted using data from the UK Biobank, tracking 84,166 participants over an average of 6.4 years.
  • The study used a new method to analyze the relationship between physical activity intensity and mortality while adjusting for overall activity volume, revealing poorer health outcomes among those engaged in the least physical activity.
  • Results indicated that at lower physical activity levels, increasing overall volume is most beneficial for reducing mortality risk, whereas at higher levels, replacing light activities with more vigorous ones is more advantageous.
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Article Synopsis
  • Self-reported physical activity (PA) questionnaires are commonly used to monitor PA in children and adolescents, but smartphone technology presents a potentially more accurate and accessible alternative for PA surveillance.
  • This review examined studies published between 2008 and 2023 that utilized smartphone apps for tracking PA in kids aged 5-18, identifying eight relevant studies, all conducted in high-income countries with participants aged 12-18.
  • Findings revealed a lack of sufficient evidence supporting the effectiveness of smartphone technology for PA surveillance in younger populations, highlighting the need for further research to bridge this knowledge gap.
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Electrically-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) are a means through which to increase individual physical activity (PA) and overcome some commonly reported barriers to engaging in conventional cycling. Fatigue is a common side effect to breast cancer treatment, and the rate of PA engagement drops significantly following a breast cancer diagnosis. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine perceptions of e-cycling as a means of increasing PA in this population.

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This study evaluated the association between adherence to a traditional Mexican diet (TMexD) and obesity, diabetes and CVD-related outcomes in secondary data analysis of the cross-sectional Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018-2019. Data from 10 180 Mexican adults were included, collected via visits to randomly selected households by trained personnel. Adherence to the TMexD (characterised by mostly plant-based foods like maize, legumes and vegetables) was measured through an adapted version of a recently developed TMexD index, using FFQ data.

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Article Synopsis
  • Meals on Wheels (MoWs) is a service in England that delivers meals to older people who can’t cook for themselves.
  • A study talked to 18 people who work for MoWs during the COVID-19 lockdown to find out more about their experiences and the challenges they faced.
  • The workers noted that MoWs helps clients feel less lonely and more independent, but also faced issues like funding cuts and needing more time to spend with the people they serve.
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Background: Digital technologies such as wearables, websites and mobile applications are increasingly used in interventions targeting physical activity (PA). Increasing access to such technologies makes an attractive prospect for helping individuals of low socioeconomic status (SES) in becoming more active and healthier. However, little is known about their effectiveness in such populations.

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Socioeconomic inequalities in physical (in)activity and sedentary behaviours are key mediators in obesity and health socioeconomic inequalities. Considering the high and uneven obesity rates in Chile, this review aims to systematically assess the socioeconomic inequalities in physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) among the Chilean population from different age groups. Peer-reviewed and grey literature were searched from inception until 31st December 2019 in PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Sciences and LILACS.

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Background: There is limited prospective evidence on possible differences in fracture risks between vegetarians, vegans, and non-vegetarians. We aimed to study this in a prospective cohort with a large proportion of non-meat eaters.

Methods: In EPIC-Oxford, dietary information was collected at baseline (1993-2001) and at follow-up (≈ 2010).

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Objective: Promoting a traditional Mexican diet (TMexD) could potentially reduce high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and support food sustainability in Mexico. This study aimed to develop an index to assess adherence to the TMexD.

Design: A three-round Delphi study was conducted to examine the food groups, specific foods and food-related habits that would constitute a TMexD index.

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Promoting traditional diets could potentially reduce the current high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) globally. While the traditional Mexican diet (TMexD) could be specifically promoted in Mexico, a concise definition of the TMexD and evidence of its association with NCDs are needed before its promotion. To evaluate what constitutes this diet pattern, we aimed to systematically review, for the first time, how the TMexD has been described in the literature to date.

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Background: Regular physical activity improves overall health, and has the capacity to reduce risk of chronic diseases and death. However, better understanding of the relationship between multiple lifestyle risk behaviours and disease outcomes is pertinent for prioritising public health messaging. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the association between physical inactivity in combination with additional lifestyle risk behaviours (smoking, alcohol, diet, or sedentary behaviour) for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality.

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About 1 in 10 postmenopausal UK women are currently prescribed oral bisphosphonates, but there are concerns about their adverse effects. Osteonecrosis of the jaw is a recognised uncommon but important side effect of intravenous bisphosphonates, but epidemiological evidence on risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with oral bisphosphonate use is less conclusive. The incidence of hospital admission with osteonecrosis of the jaw was examined among 521,695 Million Women Study participants, aged 64.

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Adhering to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and physical activity (PA) public health guidelines have independently been linked to health benefits in adults. These behaviours form essential components of the traditional Mediterranean lifestyle. However, their combined effect on metabolic risk has not been systematically assessed.

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The need to be fit, strong, fast and agile has been an evolutionary requirement since early history. In this paper we identify the effectiveness of different types of physical activity on muscle, bone and balance outcomes, and what types of physical activity contribute to the development and maintenance of these outcomes. We undertook a purposive search of PubMed, international evidence reviews of physical activity, and asked international experts to identify review level relevant literature on the effectiveness of muscle, bone and balance training and physical activity on health outcomes.

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Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine if, in the general population, physically active adults have less body fat after taking body mass index (BMI) into account.

Design: A cross-sectional analysis of participants recruited into UK Biobank in 2006-2010.

Setting: UK Biobank assessment centres throughout the UK.

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Risk factors for fracture of the neck of the femur are relatively well established, but those for fracture at other sites are little studied. In this large population study we explore the role of age, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity on the risk of fracture at seven sites in postmenopausal women. As part of the Million Women Study, 1,154,821 postmenopausal UK women with a mean age of 56.

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Background: Although physical activity has generally been associated with reduced risk of vascular disease, there is limited evidence about the effects of the frequency and duration of various activities on the incidence of particular types of vascular disease.

Methods And Results: In 1998, on average, 1.1 million women without prior vascular disease reported their frequency of physical activity and many other personal characteristics.

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While increasing age, decreasing body mass index (BMI), and physical inactivity are known to increase hip fracture risk, whether these factors have similar effects on other common fractures is not well established. We used prospectively-collected data from a large cohort to examine the role of these factors on the risk of incident ankle, wrist and hip fractures in postmenopausal women. 1,155,304 postmenopausal participants in the Million Women Study with a mean age of 56.

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