Background: Menopause represents a pivotal physiological transition characterized by hormonal fluctuations and an augmented susceptibility to chronic diseases. The relationship between menopause and heightened disease risk may be attributed in part to alterations in low-grade chronic inflammation and adiposity.
Methods: Three databases were searched for studies assessing differences in inflammation and body adiposity between pre- and postmenopausal women.
Background: Engaging in active transport will enable individuals across the life course to increase their habitual levels of physical activity. The aim of this study was to engage citizen scientists (CS) to identify factors that influence active transport in their community.
Methods: The Our Voice citizen science methodology developed at Stanford University was employed.
Background Physical activity has health benefits for adults with acquired brain injury, but it is a challenge to increase physical activity during inpatient rehabilitation. The objectives of this pilot study were to determine whether a physiotherapy-supervised inpatient walking program was feasible and able to improve physical activity and sedentary behaviour in the short and medium term. Methods Adults with acquired brain injury receiving inpatient rehabilitation undertook twice-weekly supervised walks plus behavioural therapy for 4 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: People detained in short-term police custody often have complex health conditions that may necessitate emergency care, yet little is known about their management in EDs. The present study aimed to understand ED doctors' experiences and perceptions regarding the appropriateness and management of detainee transfers from police watch-houses to the EDs.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive study, using semi-structured interviews undertaken with ED doctors working in five purposively sampled EDs across Queensland, Australia.
Objectives: Antenatal exercise is associated with placental morphological alterations, however research in this area is limited. Given the emphasis on the beneficial effects of antenatal exercise, it is important to understand its effect on placental function and the relationship to foetal development. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between physical activity, sitting time, and placental outcomes measured during gestation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProviding appropriate healthcare to people in short-term police custody settings (i.e. watch-houses) is challenging due to the complexity of detainee health needs and the limitations of the custodial environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Hum Neurosci
July 2023
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2023
This paper outlines practical tips for inclusive healthcare practice and service delivery, covering diversity aspects and intersectionality. A team with wide-ranging lived experiences from a national public health association's diversity, equity, and inclusion group compiled the tips, which were reiteratively discussed and refined. The final twelve tips were selected for practical and broad applicability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An estimated 47 million people have dementia globally, and around 10 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Many lifestyle factors have been linked to cognitive impairment; one emerging modifiable lifestyle factor is sedentary time.
Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer-reviewed literature examining the association between total sedentary time with cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults under the moderating conditions of (a) type of sedentary time measurement; (b) the cognitive domain being assessed; (c) looking at sedentary time using categorical variables (i.
Sedentary behaviour may increase the risk of dementia. Studying physiological effects of sedentary behaviour on cerebral health may provide new insights into the nature of this association. Accordingly, we reviewed if and how acute and habitual sedentary behaviour relate to brain health factors in middle-aged and older adults (≥45 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the physical environment can influence people's activity, there are few knowledge syntheses for indoor environments and older adults' daily life routines. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed evidence to inform future research and practice. Inclusion criteria were studies with any research designs, across all years and languages focused on older adults 60 years of age or more, on physical activity/sedentary behaviour and the indoor environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clinical practice guidelines recommend that adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) sit less and move more throughout the day. The 18-month OPTIMISE Your Health Clinical Trial was developed to support desk-based workers with T2D achieve these recommendations. The two-arm protocol consists of an intervention and control arms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To quantify the variation in body composition, physical function and cognitive health changes resulting from the Muscling Up Against Disability (MUAD) resistance and balance training program and the potential for baseline characteristics to predict the magnitude of training-related response.
Methods: The study represented a secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial involving 245 community-dwelling adults receiving Australian Government-funded aged care services who performed 26 weeks of supervised progressive resistance and balance training (PRBT). The primary outcome was the proportion of response that described the number of individuals expected to make any positive change due to the intervention and not external factors.
Annu Rev Public Health
April 2022
By 2050, 20% of the world's population will be over the age of 65 years, with projections that 80% of older adults will be living in low- to middle-income countries. Physical inactivity and sedentary time are particularly high in older adults, presenting unique public health challenges. In this article, we first review evidence that points to multiple beneficial outcomes of active aging, including better physical function, cognitive function, mental health, social health, and sleep, and we suggest the need to shift the research focus from chronic disease outcomes to more relevantoutcomes that affect independence and quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh levels of occupational sitting is an emerging health concern. As working from home has become a common practice as a result of COVID-19, it is imperative to validate an appropriate self-report measure to assess sitting in this setting. This secondary analysis study aimed to validate the occupational sitting and physical activity questionnaire (OSPAQ) against an activPAL4™ in full-time home-based 'office' workers (n = 148; mean age = 44.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCochrane Database Syst Rev
June 2021
Background: Older adults are the most sedentary segment of society, often spending in excess of 8.5 hours a day sitting. Large amounts of time spent sedentary, defined as time spend sitting or in a reclining posture without spending energy, has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, frailty, loss of function, disablement, social isolation, and premature death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Quantifying the years of life gained associated with light-intensity physical activity may be important for risk communication in public health. Because no studies have examined the role of light-intensity physical activity in life expectancy, this study aims to quantify the years of life gained from light-intensity physical activity in a population-based U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Sedentary time (ST) and light-intensity physical activity (LIPA) are movement behaviours associated with important health outcomes, but are not widely explored in respiratory diseases. We aimed to describe their volume and/or accumulation patterns in moderate-severe COPD, bronchiectasis and severe asthma using the accurate postural-based accelerometer activPAL, contrasting these values with a non-respiratory population. We also sought to test the cross-sectional associations of these behaviours with disease characteristics by diagnostic group, and as a combined label-free disease group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGrowing socioeconomic and structural disparities within and between nations have created unprecedented health inequities that have been felt most keenly among the world's youth. While policy approaches can help to mitigate such inequities, they are often challenging to enact in under-resourced and marginalized communities. Community-engaged participatory action research provides an alternative or complementary means for addressing the physical and social environmental contexts that can impact health inequities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThink Skills Creat
December 2020
The world's current struggles with the health, economic and social impacts of the horrific Covid-19 pandemic and Australia's recent experience of climate crises, fire and flood, remind us that developing proficiency in addressing complex problems and working in interdisciplinary collaborative contexts are extraordinarily urgent. This worldwide pandemic poses potential social, political, economic and cultural catastrophes in addition to the immediate tragic outcomes for individuals and public health. Now more than ever we need to focus on developing our skills of creative and collaborative thinking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Long-term effects of physical activity and television (TV) viewing on mortality have been inferred from observational studies. The associations observed do not allow for inferences about the effects of population interventions and could be subject to bias due to time-varying confounding.
Methods: Using data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, collected in 1999-2000 (T0), 2004-2005 (T1), and 2011-2012 (T2), we applied the parametric g-formula to estimate cumulative risks of death under hypothetical interventions on physical activity and/or TV viewing determined from self-report while adjusting for time-varying confounding.
Background: Sedentary behaviour might be a potential risk factor for cognitive decline. However, the short-term effects of sedentary behaviour on (cerebro) vascular and cognitive performance in older people are unknown.
Methods: We used a cross-over design with 22 older adults (78 years, 9 females) to assess the short-term hemodynamic and cognitive effects of three hours uninterrupted sitting and explored if these effects can be counteracted with regular (every 30 min) two-minute walking breaks.
Background: Our aim was to describe and explore older adults' device-measured sedentary behavior and physical activity (PA) pattern by sex, age, education, marital status, body mass index, and physical function; and to assess agreement regarding fulfillment of PA recommendations, i.e. 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA), between device-measured and self-reported PA.
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