Gender differences in social support and leisure-time physical activity

OBJECTIVE To identify gender differences in social support dimensions’ effect on adults’ leisure-time physical activity maintenance, type, and time.METHODS Longitudinal study of 1,278 non-faculty public employees at a university in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Southeastern Brazil. Physical activity was evaluated using a dichotomous question with a two-week reference period, and further questions concerning leisure-time physical activity type (individual or group) and time spent on the activity. Social support was measured with the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale. For the analysis, logistic regression models were adjusted separately by gender.RESULTS A multinomial logistic regression showed an association between material support and individual activities among women (OR = 2.76; 95%CI 1.2;6.5). Affective support was associated with time spent on leisure-time physical activity only among men (OR = 1.80; 95%CI 1.1;3.2).CONCLUSIONS All dimensions of social support that were examined influenced either the type of, or the time spent on, leisure-time physical activity. In some social support dimensions, the associations detected varied by gender. Future studies should attempt to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these gender differences.

Occupational and domiciliary contact with dogs as factors of risk to human infection with Toxocara larvae

The contact with dogs at home or place of work has been investigated as factors of risk in the occurrence of the visceral larva migrans syndrome caused by Toxocara, in man. Through the E.L.I.S.A. (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique, the presence of antibodies to Toxocara was searched in the sera of 79 women who have been raising or had raised dogs at home in the last two years and 123 men, who were municipal public employees in charge of the capture and keeping of stray dogs. The control groups were constituted by 205 sera from women who denied domiciliary contact with dogs, at least in the last two years, and 139 sera from men whose occupation did not urge them to contact with dogs. A significant more elevated frequency of antibodies to Toxocara was observed among women with domiciliary contact with dogs; nevertheless, there was not a significant difference in the positive rates in the case of men with occupational contact with dogs.