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Background: Deficits in knee flexor strength and rate of torque development (RTD) might be present in women with patellofemoral pain (PFP). In addition, maximal strength and RTD of the knee flexors and extensors might be related with subjective and objective function in women with PFP. However, both conjectures are still poorly understood.Research Question: Do women with PFP have deficits in the maximal strength and RTD of the knee flexors and extensors during isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions? Is there a relationship between maximal strength and RTD of the knee flexors and extensors with subjective and objective function in women with PFP?Methods: Fifty-six women with, and 46 women without, PFP participated. Maximal strength and RTD (to 30% and 60% maximal torque) during isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions of the knee flexors and extensors were assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer. Objective assessment included single leg hop test (SLHT) and forward step-down test (FSDT). Subjective assessment involved the anterior knee pain scale.Results: Women with PFP had small to large deficits in maximal strength and RTD of the knee flexors and extensors during isometric, concentric and eccentric contractions (Effect sizes: -0.43 to -1.10; p ≤ 0.016). Small to moderate correlations of maximal concentric and eccentric knee flexor strength and RTD with SLHT and FSDT (r = 0.28 to 0.41; p ≤ 0.037) were identified. Subjective or objective function were not correlated with maximal isometric knee flexor strength and RTD, or any knee extensor measures (p > 0.05).Significance: Maximal strength and RTD deficits of the knee flexors and extensors were identified in this female PFP cohort, but they were unrelated to subjective function. The relationship of concentric and eccentric knee flexor strength and RTD deficits with poor objective function should be considered in future exercise trials for women with PFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exercise improves cardiovascular and metabolic health in pregnancy and may represent a non-pharmacological approach to improving pregnancy outcomes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and offer the potential for evaluating vascular health non-invasively during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in circulating EV levels after an acute bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women. We studied plasma samples from pregnant (N = 13, 13–28 weeks) and non-pregnant (N = 17) women. A pre-exercise blood sample was obtained followed by a 30 min bout of moderate-intensity treadmill-based exercise. Immediately following the exercise, a post-exercise blood draw was collected. Large EVs were isolated from plasma by differential centrifugation and characterized by Western blot and electron microscopy. We quantified circulating EVs by nanoscale flow cytometry. Endothelial EVs were identified as VE-Cadherin+, platelet EVs as CD41+, and leukocyte EVs as CD45+ events. Acute exercise was associated with a significant reduction in levels of circulating endothelial EVs in the non-pregnant group (p = 0.0232) but not in the pregnant group (p = 0.2734). A greater proportion of non-pregnant women (13/17, 76.47%) exhibited a reduction in endothelial EVs compared with their pregnant counterparts (4/13, 30.76%, p < 0.05). We also observed a positive association between measures of fitness (average speed) and baseline levels of platelet (r = 0.5816, p = 0.0159) and total EVs (r = 0.5325, p = 0.0296) in the non-pregnant group but not in pregnant individuals. Collectively, our study highlights that after a matched acute exercise, changes to circulating EV levels differ depending on pregnancy status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Attributes of the neighborhood-built environment are associated with self-reported physical activity, but only a few studies have concentrated on device-measured physical activity in Latin America. This study examines the associations of perceived neighborhood-built environment attributes, device-measured sedentary time, and light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in adults from 8 Latin American countries.Methods: Data from Estudio Latinoamericano de Nutrición y Salud adult study, an observational multicountry study (N=2,478), were analyzed in 2020. Data were collected between 2014 and 2015. Perceived neighborhood-built environment attributes were measured using the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Survey. Sedentary time, light-intensity physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity data were collected using accelerometers.Results: No associations between perceived neighborhood-built environment attributes and sedentary time were found. Positive perceptions of walking/cycling facilities (β=6.50, 95% CI=2.12, 10.39) were associated with more light-intensity physical activity. Perceptions of better aesthetics (Argentina) and better walking/cycling facilities (Brazil and Ecuador) were positively associated with light-intensity physical activity. Land use mix-diversity (β=0.14, 95% CI=0.03, 0.25), walking/cycling facilities (β=0.16, 95% CI=0.05, 0.27), aesthetics (β=0.16, 95% CI=0.02, 0.30), and safety from traffic (β=0.18, 95% CI=0.05, 0.24) were positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Land use mix-diversity, street connectivity, and safety from traffic were positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in Venezuela.Conclusions: These findings have implications for policy recommendations, which can guide policies to promote physical activity in the region. Land use mix-diversity, walking/cycling facilities, aesthetics, and safety from traffic can maintain or increase the levels of light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among Latin American adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We tested whether stressful workplace characteristics confound or moderate the association between occupational physical activity and depressive symptoms.Method: We used data of 36,442 employed adults (16,992 women), with a mean age of 39.3 ± 12.6y, from the 2013 Brazilian National Health Survey. Depressive symptoms were assessed through the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (cut-point: ≥10). Occupational physical activity was self-reported and classified using the cut-point of 150 min/week and the highest quintile. Ten stressful workplace characteristics (e.g. exposure to stress, noise, violence) were also self-reported dichotomously. Logistic regression models were used considering the adjustment for potential confounders.Results: Most of the stressful workplace characteristics were associated with elevated depressive symptoms (8/10 characteristics) and higher occupational physical activity (9/10 characteristics). Although there were no interactions in combined associations, we found that the association between occupational physical activity and depressive symptoms consistently reduced after adjusting for the cluster of positive screening for at least two stressful workplace characteristics in men [highest quintile: ORunadjusted: 1.63 (95%CI 1.22-2.17) vs ORadjusted: 1.36 (1.08-1.91); ≥150 min/week: ORunadjusted: 1.43 (1.09-1.88) vs ORadjusted: 1.25 (0.95-1.64)], and women [highest quintile: ORunadjusted: 2.15 1.73-2.66) vs ORadjusted: 1.83 (1.47-2.29); ≥150 min/week: ORunadjusted: 2.11 (1.68-2.65) vs ORadjusted: 1.80 (1.42-2.27)].Limitations: The cross-sectional design limits the causal inference.Conclusions: Stressful workplace characteristics did not moderate, but acted as confounders in the association between occupational physical activity and elevated depressive symptoms and should be considered in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We analyzed the joint association of high ultra-processed food ingestion and sedentary behavior (SB) with anxiety-induced sleep disturbance among Brazilian adolescents.Methods: Data from the Brazilian Scholar Health Survey, a nationally representative survey of 9th grade adolescents [mean: 14.28 years (range: 11-18 years)] conducted in 2015 (n = 100,648) were used. Self-reported anxiety-induced sleep disturbance, SB (TV viewing and total sitting time), and frequency of ingestion of different ultra-processed foods were collected. Age, ethnicity, type of city (capital or interior), region of the country, and habitual physical activity (global scholar survey questionnaire) were covariates. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations.Results: High ultra-processed food ingestion plus low SB [boys:OR:1.44(99%CI:1.16-1.79), girls:OR:1.41(99%CI:1.22-1.63)] were risk factors for anxiety-induced sleep disturbance. The highest risk of anxiety-induced sleep disturbance was observed among those who joint high ultra-processed food ingestion with high SB [boys:OR:1.85(99%CI:1.46-2.35), girls:OR:1.62(99%CI:1.39-1.89)]. In addition, the interaction of high ultra-processed food ingestion with TV-viewing substantially increased the odds of anxiety-induced sleep disturbance [boys:OR:2.03(99%CI:1.61-2.56), girls:OR:2.04(99%CI:1.76-2.36)].Conclusions: Both the high consumption of ultra-processed foods and SB (especially TV-viewing) appear to be independently associated with anxiety-induced sleep disturbance in both sexes. However, the co-occurrence of both negative lifestyle behaviors is associated with a substantial increase in the risk of anxiety-induced sleep disturbance. Future longitudinal research is required to confirm/refute our findings and explore potential mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Depression is commonly associated to physical multimorbidity and there is an urgent need to identify modifiable risk factors. Physical activity (PA) is good for health, but the association between PA and multimorbidity with depressive symptoms is unclear. Thus, we investigated whether meeting weekly recommended PA guidelines influences the association between multimorbidity and depressive symptoms.Methods: Data were used from a national survey conducted in Brazil in 2013 with 60,202 adults (≥ 18 years). Information regarding depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), PA, and chronic disease was collected via interview-administered questionnaires. Data on covariates (age, educational status, employment status, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and TV-viewing) were also assessed. Adjusted logistic regression models were used.Results: Overall, men and women with one or more chronic conditions who were inactive (engaging in <150 min PA per week) had higher odds of elevated depressive symptoms than active individuals with no chronic condition. However, only in men, physical inactivity interacts with heart disease (OR: 2.59; 95%CI: 1.10 to 6.09), cancer (OR: 21.54; 95%CI: 2.67 to 173.94) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR: 8.26; 95%CI: 2.20 to 31.01) regarding elevated depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Our data suggest that engaging in weekly recommended PA targets may attenuate association of heart disease, cancer and COPD with depressive symptoms among men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]