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BackgroundThe integration of Connected Health Devices (CHDs) is growing within mobile health (mHealth) and telemedicine, encouraged by institutions and industries. The idea is to improve lifestyle habits and health behaviors as a preventive goal in an aging population with fewer physicians available. However, their ill-defined place in health care does not promote their use in current medical practice. ObjectiveThe primary objective of this study was to quantify CHDs’ use rate by general practitioners (GPs). A secondary objective was to evaluate their benefits and limitations in usual care. MethodsA cross-sectional study through an Internet-based survey was addressed to French GPs via regional medical unions and continuous education agencies, supplemented with an informative website, from March 2015 to July 2015. Surveys where either the form was insufficiently filled or the main question was left unanswered were excluded from the study. ResultsA total of 1084 answers were analyzed, of which 19.46% (211/1084, 95% CI 17.1-21.8) GPs used CHDs, and 10.15% (110/1084, 95% CI 8.5-12.1) prescribed a CHD. CHD users statistically prescribed more CHDs (7.38% [80/1084] in the user group vs 2.86% [31/1084] in nonusers; P

Background: The effects on gait and posture of balneotherapy in fallers are unknown. We assessed the effects on physical functioning and fear of falling of a balneotherapy program alone or combined with a physical activity and educational program in older adult fallers. Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled trial enrolled patients aged 65 or older referred to a 3-week balneotherapy program, and screened for risk of falling (a history of falls in the last year and a timed up and go test or a five chair rising test > 12 sec or a 4-meter walk test > 4 sec). In addition to balneotherapy, patients had either no intervention (controls) or twelve 60-minute sessions of physical activity including 15 minutes of health education and three 90-minute sessions of an educational program (intervention). Results: There were 118 control and 105 intervention patients. The balneotherapy program alone had a clinically significant effect on (i) the grip strength, (ii) the five chair rising test, (iii) the 4-meter walk test, and (iv) the short physical performance battery (Cohen's d 0.29– 0.46). It had no effect on (i) the maximum time stood on one foot, and (ii) the timed up and go test. Furthermore, it worsened the falls efficacy scale (d = 0.27). Adding a physical activity and educational program significantly improved (i) the time stood on one foot (Cohen's d =− 0.34), and (ii) the timed up and go test (d=- 0.44), (iii) and reduced the concern about falling (Falls Efficacy scale, d=− 0.25), and (iv) the fear of falling (d=− 0.34). Conclusion: Older patients referred to a balneotherapy program and at high risk of falling when screened at the entrance of the center should be offered an additional physical and educational program to further improve the functional effects of balneotherapy on the timed up and go test, balance, and the fear of falling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has recently showed that theory-based interventions designed to promote physical activity (PA) significantly increased PA behavior. The objective of the present study was to investigate the moderators of the efficacy of these theory-based interventions. Seventy-seven RCTs evaluating theory-based interventions were systematically identified. Sample, intervention, methodology, and theory implementation characteristics were extracted, coded by three duos of independent investigators, and tested as moderators of interventions effect in a multiple-meta-regression model. Three moderators were negatively associated with the efficacy of theory-based interventions on PA behavior: intervention length (=14 weeks; ß = -0.22, p = 0.004), number of experimental patients (ß = -0.10, p = 0.002), and global methodological quality score (ß = -0.08, p = 0.04). Our findings suggest that the efficacy of theory-based interventions to promote PA could be overestimated consequently due to methodological weaknesses of RCTs and that interventions shorter than 14 weeks could maximize the increase of PA behavior.

This study examines the prevalence of overweight and obesity and a panel of potential determinants among French youths and adults with an intellectual disability (ID). The sample used consisted of 1120 youths and adults with an ID, from 5 to 28 years old, attending a French special education school. The results indicated that 19.8% of the participants with an ID are classified as overweight and 8.6% as obese. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that there are nearly three times more girls/women classified as overweight than boys/men. Additionally, they showed that there are nearly two times more participants from southern France classified as overweight than from northern France, and that the risk of being classified as overweight significantly increases with seniority in the school. Next, the interaction effects observed indicated first that there are nearly two times more boys/men on psychotropic medication classified as overweight than boys/men not on psychotropic medication. Second, they revealed that the odds of being classified as overweight for boys/men not on psychotropic medication are 47% lower than for girls/women not on psychotropic medication. Third, they indicated that there are nearly two times more boys/men from southern France classified as obese than boys/men from northern France. Fourth, they showed that the odds of being classified as obese for boys/men from northern France are 52% lower than for girls/women from northern France. In conclusion, these results should be viewed as preliminary and need to be replicated since, to our knowledge, this study is the first one to examine this topic while simultaneously controlling for all of the potential determinants and relying on a sample of youths and adults. (Contains 3 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability (i.e. internal consistency and test-retest reliability) and construct validity (i.e. content validity, factor validity, measurement invariance, and latent mean invariance) of the Nutrition and Activity Knowledge Scale (NAKS) in a sample of French adolescents with mild to moderate Intellectual Disability (ID). A total sample of 260 adolescents (144 boys and 116 girls), aged between 12 and 18 years old, with mild to moderate ID was involved in two studies. In the first study, analysis of items' content reveals that many words from the original version were not understood or induced confusion. These items were reworded and simplified while retaining their original meaning. In the second study, results provided support for: (i) the factor validity and reliability of a 15-item French version of the NAKS; (ii) the measurement invariance of the resulting NAKS across genders and ID levels; (iii) the partial measurement invariance of the resulting NAKS across age groups and type of school placement. In addition, the latent means of the 15-item French version of the NAKS proved to be invariant across gender, age categories, and ID levels, but to vary across type of school placement (with adolescents schooled in self-contained classes from regular schools presenting higher levels of NAK than adolescents placed in specialized establishments). The present results thus provide preliminary evidence regarding the construct validity of a 15-item French version of the NAKS in a sample of adolescents with ID. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term effects of sport participation on the basketball skills and physical self-concept of adolescents with conduct disorders (CD). Participants were 24 adolescent males with CD, divided equally into three groups: (a) interestablishment basketball (IEBB), (b) integrated scholastic basketball (ISBB), and (c) control-adapted physical activity (APA). The basketball skills tests and physical self-concept were both administrated 4 times over an 18-month period. Results indicated (a) an improvement in basketball skills in both competitive groups (i.e., ISBB, IEBB), (b) a significant curvilinear trend of physical self-worth scale in the three groups, and (c) no significant changes in physical self-concept in the three groups (ISBB, IEBB, and APA). In conclusion, the integrated and segregated competitive programs did not represent an effective means for improving the physical self-concept of adolescents with CD. (Contains 3 tables.)

The purpose was to examine the effects of the type of athletic program (integrated versus segregated) and of the type of sport (basketball versus swimming) on two domains of perceived competence (athletic competence and social acceptance), and general self-worth. Participants were 48 adolescent females with intellectual disabilities (ID) divided equally into six groups: (a) segregated basketball, (b) integrated basketball, (c) segregated swimming, (d) integrated swimming, (e) physical education (PE), and (f) sedentary. The experimental treatment was 21 months long; for sport groups, this involved 2 h of training each week and 12 competitive meets. We administrated Harter's (Harter, S. (1985). "Manual for the self-perception profile for children." Denver: University of Denver) "Self-Perception Profile for Children" seven times to determine changes in perceived competence, and general self-worth. Results indicated: (a) no changes in perceived social acceptance; (b) significantly lower perceived athletic competence for the integrated groups; (c) significantly lower general self-worth for the basketball groups compared to the PE group. The integrated environment helps adolescents with ID to adopt a more realistic evaluation of their physical competence.