Impact of a community-based exercise programme on physical fitness in middle-aged and older patients with type 2 diabetes

Objectives: Physical fitness is related to all-cause mortality, quality of life and risk of falls in patients with type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to analyse the impact of a long-term community-based combined exercise program (aerobic + resistance + agility/balance + flexibility) developed with minimum and low-cost material resources on physical fitness in middle-aged and older patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This was a non-experimental pre-post evaluation study. Participants (N = 43; 62.92 ± 5.92 years old) were engaged in a community-based supervised exercise programme (consisting of combined aerobic, resistance, agility/balance and flexibility exercises; three sessions per week; 70 min per session) of 9 months' duration. Aerobic fitness (6-Minute Walk Test), muscle strength (30-Second Chair Stand Test), agility/balance (Timed Up and Go Test) and flexibility (Chair Sit and Reach Test) were assessed before (baseline) and after the exercise intervention. Results: Significant improvements in the performance of the 6-Minute Walk Test (Δ = 8.20%, p < 0.001), 30-Second Chair Stand Test (Δ = 28.84%, p < 0.001), Timed Up and Go Test (Δ = 14.31%, p < 0.001), and Chair Sit and Reach Test (Δ = 102.90%, p < 0.001) were identified between baseline and end-exercise intervention time points. Conclusions: A long-term community-based combined exercise programme, developed with low-cost exercise strategies, produced significant benefits in physical fitness in middle-aged and older patients with type 2 diabetes. This supervised group exercise programme significantly improved aerobic fitness, muscle strength, agility/balance and flexibility, assessed with field tests in community settings.

ROC curves of obesity indicators have a predictive value for children hypertension aged 7-17 years

Objective: The aim of the study is to examine the distribution of integrated covariate and its association with blood pressure (BP) among children in Anhui province, China, and assess the predictive value of integrated covariate to children hypertension. Methods: A total of 2,828 subjects (1,588 male and 1,240 female) aged 7-17 years participated in this study. Height, weight, waistline, hipline and BP of all subjects were measured, obesity and overweight were defined by an international standard, specifying the measurement, the reference population, and the age and sex specific cut off points. High BP status was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 95th percentile for age and gender. Results: Our results revealed that the prevalence of children hypertension was 11.03%, the SBP and DBP of obesity group were significantly higher than that of normal group. Anthropometric obesity indices such as body mass index (BMI) were positively correlated with SBP and DBP. Integrated covariate had a better performance than the single covariate in the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the cut-off value; the sensitivity and the specificity of the integrated covariate were 0.112, 0.577, 0.683, respectively. Conclusion: Integrated covariate is a simple and effective anthropometric index to identify childhood hypertension.

Evaluation of blood zinc, calcium and blood lead levels among children aged 1-36 months

Background: Early childhood lead exposure is associated with numerous adverse health effects. Biomonitoring among susceptible populations, such as children, has not been previously conducted. The aim of the study is to evaluate the blood lead (Pb) and total blood calcium (Ca) levels; blood zinc (Zn) levels. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed to collect healthy children age 1-36 months (Mean ± SD: 1.5 ± 0.6 age, 60% boys) in the study from January 2010 to September 2011. Results: The overall mean blood Pb levels were 42.18 ± 12.13 μg/L, the overall mean blood Zn and total blood Ca concentrations were 62.18 ± 12.33 μmol/L and 1.78 ± 0.13 mmol/L, respectively. The prevalence of elevated blood Pb levels in all children was 1.3%. A significant difference was found between female and male subjects for the blood Pb and Zn. After controlling for gender and age, there was a weak positive correlation between total blood Ca and Zn level. Conclusions: The blood Pb levels had a significant negative correlation with total blood Ca level after adjusting for age and gender, and these findings suggest that Pb had effect on positive blood Zn and total blood Ca levels; parents should pay more attention to the nutrition of girls.

The impact of serum uric acid on the diagnostic of metabolic syndrome in apparently healthy Brazilian middle-aged men

Background: Hyperuricemia is related to Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular diseases, but the use of serum uric acid (UA) to diagnose MetS is currently ignored in clinical practices. Objectives: To examine the impact of serum UA on the diagnostic of MetS and the relationship of serum UA with cardiometabolic risk factors in apparently healthy Brazilian middle-aged men residents in a city of Minas Gerais. Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, 289 apparently healthy middle-aged men underwent anthropometric, clinical, sociodemographic and blood serum biochemical evaluation. By using receive operating curve the internal cutoff of serum UA was determined (5.25 mg/dL). Results: Subjects with two or more components of MetS exhibited higher serum UA as compared to those with one or none component. The inclusion of serum UA ≥ 5.25mg/dL as an additional component of MetS increased the occurrence of this syndrome by 13%. Subjects with UA ≥ 5.25mg/dL showed high prevalence for MetS and association with its components (central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidemia and hypertension) as well as atherogenic risk. Conclusions: Serum UA has an important impact on the diagnostic of MetS and is related to cardiometabolic risk factors in apparently healthy Brazilian middle-aged men. Its use in clinical practices could aggregate accuracy to diagnose MetS.

Circuit resistance training improved endothelial dysfunction in obese aged women

Introduction: It is widely accepted that obesity is associated with endothelial dysfunction. In a recent paper, we have also found circuit resistance training may reduce visceral fat in obese aged women. Accordingly, the current study was conducted to ascertain the effects of circuit resistance training on markers of endothelial dysfunction in this population group. Methods: In the present interventional study, a total of 48 obese aged women were recruited from the community. Twenty-four of them were randomly assigned to perform a 12-week resistance circuit training programme, 3-days per week. This training was circularly performed in 6 stations: arm curl, leg extension, seated row, leg curl, triceps extension and leg press. The Jamar handgrip electronic dynamometer was used to assess maximal handgrip strength of the dominant hand. Lastly, serum samples were analysed using an immunoassay (ELISA) for endothelin-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Results: When compared to baseline, resistance training significantly reduced serum levels of endothelin-1 (2.28 ± 0.7 vs. 1.98 ± 1.1 pg/ml; p = 0.019; d = 0.67) and ICAM-1 (290 ± 69 vs. 255 ± 76 ng/ml; p = 0.004; d = 0.92) in the experimental group. No significant changes in any of the tested outcomes were found in the control group. Conclusion: A short-term circuit resistance program improved endothelial dysfunction in aged obese women. Further studies on this topic are still required to consolidate this approach in clinical application.