Cardiovascular fitness and cardiovascular risk factors among obese men and women aged 58 years and older, in Portugal

Background: A better physical fitness may have survival advantages in adults. Aim: To analyze the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular risk factors among obese subjects aged 58 years and older. Material and Methods: Cardiorespiratory fitness using the six-minute walk test, body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and blood pressure were measured in a non-representative sample of 76 obese Portuguese subjects aged 58 to 87 years (55 women). Participants were stratified in tertiles of walking capacity according to the six-minute walk test. Results: Six minutes walk test results were negatively correlated with percentage body fat (r = -0.28; p = 0.012) and systolic blood pressure (r = -0.23; p = 0.045). Participants located in the lowest tertile for the six minutes walk test had an odds ratio of 4.34 (95% confidence intervals: 1.02-18.43) for elevated blood pressure. Conclusions: A lower six minutes walk test result is associated with a higher risk for high blood pressure. (Rev Med Chile 2012; 140: 1164-1169).

RESPONSES of HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS and AEROBIC PERFORMANCE of ELITE MEN and WOMEN SWIMMERS DURING A 14-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Drinking patterns between men and women in two distinct Brazilian communities

OBJETIVO: Realizou-se um inquérito para comparar diferenças de gênero nos padrões de consumo de álcool em duas amostras urbanas, estratificadas e representativas de duas comunidades (B e RJr). MÉTODO: O questionário Genacis (Gênero, Álcool e Cultura: Um Estudo Internacional Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An Internacional Study) foi utilizado. RESULTADOS: Houve várias diferenças significativas em dados sociodemográficos e de padrões de uso de álcool entre essas duas amostras. Uma delas tinha população mais velha, educada, católica, branca e mais mulheres na força de trabalho. Dados da comunidade B mostraram que mulheres e homens tiveram padrões similares de consumo de álcool. RJr teve uso de álcool mais alto entre homens e 22% dos homens abaixo de 49 anos de idade tinham padrão de uso do tipo binge. DISCUSSÃO: O acesso, tabagismo, renda e ter um parceiro com consumo pesado de álcool foram fatores de risco importantes para o consumo das mulheres. CONCLUSÕES: Este estudo mostra que quando os papéis das mulheres se tornam similares aos dos homens, modificam seu padrão de consumo de álcool.

Antisperm antibodies in infertile men and their correlation with seminal parameters

Aim: Antisperm antibodies (ASA) in males cause the autoimmune disease 'immune infertility'. The present study intended to detect the presence of ASA and their incidence in men with unexplained infertility, as well as to evaluate the correlation between the presence of ASA and semen parameter alterations. Methods: Blood and sperm assessment were collected to carry out a direct and indirect mixed antiglobulin reaction (MAR) test and semen analysis in infertile and fertile men from the University Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, Sao Paulo State University, Sao Paulo. Results: In the MARtest, 18.18% of infertile men were positive for ASA. In fertile men, no positivity was found. A significant correlation between the presence of ASA with an increased white blood cell count plus a decreased hypoosmotic swelling test result was observed. Conclusions: The results indicate that ASA are involved in reduced fertility. It is not ASA detection per.se that provides conclusive information about the occurrence of damage to fertility. The correlation between infertility and altered seminal parameters reinforce the ASA participation in this pathology. © 2007 The Authors Journal compilation. © 2007 Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Do men and women use similar adaptive locomotion to clear static and dynamic obstacles?

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of gender on the adaptive locomotion in the clearance of obstacles. Specifically, it was evaluated if there are differences in the space-temporal parameters between male and female in the clearance of and dynamic obstacles moving at both slow and fast speeds. Basic procedures. Five young male adults and five young female adults took part in this study. The task was performed in three conditions: static obstacle and dynamic obstacle - clearance perpendicular to the participant's trajectory at slow speed (1.07 m/s) and at fast speed (1.71 m/s). The trials were recorded by two digital cameras and spatial-temporal information was obtained. Main findings. The dynamic obstacle conditions required more visual inspection. The results showed different adaptive locomotion between the sexes. The distinct gait patterns were evidenced for the spatial and temporal variables and cadence in the three conditions. Conclusions. The women presented a more conservative behavior, which was evidenced by the increase of the length in the penultimate step and in the toe clearance.

Symptom dimensions, clinical course and comorbidity in men and women with obsessive-compulsive disorder

The study aimed to compare male and female patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) across symptom dimensions, clinical course and comorbidity. A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 858 adult OCD patients (DSM-IV) from the Brazilian Research Consortium on Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders. Patients were evaluated using structured interviews, including the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I). The sample was composed of 504 women (58.7%) and 354 men (41.3%) with a mean age of 35.4 years-old (range: 18-77). Men were younger, more frequently single and presented more tics, social phobia and alcohol use disorders. Among men, symptom interference occurred earlier and symptoms of the sexual/religious dimension were more common and more severe. Conversely, women were more likely to present symptoms of the aggressive, contamination/cleaning and hoarding dimension and comorbidity with specific phobias, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, trichotillomania, skin picking and compulsive buying. In the logistic regression, female gender remained independently associated with the aggressive and contamination/cleaning dimensions. In both genders the aggressive dimension remained associated with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder, the sexual/religious dimension with major depression and the hoarding dimension with tic disorders. Gender seems to be relevant in the determination of OCD clinical presentation and course and should be considered an important aspect when defining more homogeneous OCD subgroups. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Comparison of pain threshold and duration of pain perception in men and women of different ages

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Reliability of one-repetition maximum test in untrained young adult men and women

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Alcoholic women and men: a comparative study of social and familial aspects and outcome

Objetivos: A proporção de ocorrência de alcoolismo em homens e mulheres tem uma variação de 14:1 até 2:1, mostrando a necessidade de estudos específicos para a população feminina. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o perfil e a evolução de alcoolistas, segundo gênero e gravidade da dependência. Métodos: Realizou-se um estudo longitudinal retrospectivo de 114 homens e 57 mulheres alcoolistas (CID-10), inscritos no ambulatório da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, no período de 1990-1994 e avaliados até julho de 1997. Utilizou-se um questionário semi-estruturado, e, para avaliação da gravidade do alcoolismo, o Short Alcohol Dependence Data. Resultados/Conclusões: Os principais resultados mostraram que a estrutura familiar estava comprometida com: relacionamento difícil para 55,6% das mulheres e 65,7% dos homens; violência familiar em 74,1% das mulheres e 61,1% dos homens. As mulheres iniciaram a ingestão mais tarde que os homens (p=0,01), em geral com seus cônjuges (p=0,00). Não houve diferença de evolução no tratamento entre os gêneros. Os principais fatores associados à melhor resposta ao tratamento, independentemente do sexo, foram: nível de gravidade de dependência do álcool (dependentes leves e moderados apresentaram 5,59 vezes mais chances de melhorar do que os dependentes graves); ser praticante de alguma religião (2,3 vezes mais chances de melhora do que os pacientes que não eram praticantes); e tempo de seguimento no programa, negativamente correlacionado a chances de melhora (0,68 vezes menos chances de melhora que aqueles que permaneceram por tempo menor em tratamento).