Prevalence of physical activity in European adults — Compliance with the World Health Organization's physical activity guidelines

Background. Adults are recommended to engage in at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA). Purpose. This study aimed to examine the level of compliance with PA recommendations among European adults. Methods. Using data from European Social Survey round 6, PA self-report data was collected from 52,936 European adults from 29 countries in 2012. Meeting PA guidelines was assessed usingWorld Health Organization criteria. Results. 61.47% (60.77% male, 62.05% female) of European adults reported to be engaged in moderate to vigorous PA at least 30 min on 5 or more days per week. The likelihood of achieving the PA recommended levels was higher among respondents older than 18–24. For those aged 45–64 years the likelihood increased 65% (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.51–1.82, p b 0.001) and 112% (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.94–2.32, p b 0.001) for males and females, respectively. Those who were high school graduates were more likely to report achieving the recommended PA levels than those with less than high school education (males: OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.12–1.27, p b 0.001; females: OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.06–1.20, p b 0.001). Conclusion. Although about 60% of European adults reported achieving the recommended levels of PA, there is much room for improvement among European adults, particularly among relatively inactive subgroups.

Therapeutic education, the premise of adherence to the type 2 diabetes therapeutic regimen

Background: type 2 diabetes mellitus includes changes in lifestyle in its etiology of prevention, but the evidence is clear —even when people know what to do and what they want to do, they simply do not adopt adherence behaviors. Structured education will allow improving not only metabolic control, but also the adjustment process to a new situation of disease, as well as to develop the patient’s skills in order to make him the key manager of his illness. Objectives: To determine patients’ adherence to prescribed therapeutic regimens. Material and methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional, non-experimental, descriptive, correlational study, with a sample of 102 people with type 2 diabetes, aged between 40 and 85 years old, mostly male (51.96%). The evaluation protocol included social-demographic and clinical questionnaire, Diabetes Self-care Scale and a questionnaire on Diabetes’ knowledge. We also used HbA1c in order to directly assess adherence. Results: It appears that there is no statistically signiicant correlation between socio-demographic variables such as gender and age and adherence. Variables, such as blood glucose monitoring, speciic diet compliance and knowledge, reveal a statistically signiicant effect on adherence (P < .05). Conclusion: The evidence is clear on the urgent need to recognize the importance of measuring patient adherence to a diabetes treatment plan for the maintenance of glycaemic control. We suggest the reinforcement of educational programs in people with type 2 diabetes so as to improve adherence to self-care.

Adherence to therapeuthic regimen and metabolic control of type 1 diabetes

Abstract Objectives: To assess the adherence to therapeutic regimen; to determine the Hemoglobin Glycation Index (HbA1c); to analyse the relationship that exists between the adherence to therapeutic regimen and metabolic control. Design: correlational analytical study, carried out according to a cross-sectional perspective. Participants: A non-probabilistic sample of 266 people with type 1 diabetes aged between 18 and 78 years old (mean M = 51.02 ± SD = 18.710), attending follow-up diabetes consultations. Mostly male individuals (51.88%), with low schooling level (50.75% had only inished elementar school). Measuring Instruments: We used the following data collection tools: a questionnaire on clinical and socio-demographic data, blood analysis of venous blood to determine the glycated hemoglobin level (HbA1c).Three self-report scales were used: Accession to Diabetes Treatment (Matos, 1999), Self-perception Scale (Vaz Serra, 1986) and Social Support Scale (Matos & Rodrigues, 2000). Results: In a sample in which the mean disease duration is 12.75 years, 69.17% of the sample run glycemic control tests between once a day and four times a year and 42.86% of them undergo insulin treatment. In the last 3 weeks, 26.32% of these people have experienced an average of 4.22 to 44.36%, hypoglycemic crises and experienced an average of 6.18 hyperglycemic crises. 57% of the individuals have showed a poor metabolic control (mean HbA1c higher than 7.5% (HbA1c mean M ≥ 7.50%). The mean psychosocial proile revealed individuals who show a decent self-esteem (M = 70.81) and acceptable social support (M = 58.89). Conclusions: The results suggest we should develop a kind of investigation that could be used to monitor the strenght of the mediation effect effect of the psychosocial predictive dimension of the adherence, since it has become essential to support a multidisciplinary approach which center lays in the promotion of a co-responsible self-management from the person who suffers from diabetes. This will enable a better quality of life; fewer years of people’s lives lost prematurely and a better health with less economical costs for citizens and healthcare systems.