Changes in physical activity and adiposity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality

Physical activity, genetic predisposition, and incident cardiovascular disease: Prospective analyses of the UK Biobank

BACKGROUND

It is unclear whether physical activity can benefit participants with high genetic predisposition to cardiovascular disease. We examined the joint associations of intensity-specific physical activity and genetic predisposition (based on polygenetic risk score) with incident coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and atrial fibrillation (AF).

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included 303,950 adults (age = 56.4 ± 8.0 years, mean ± SD; 52.5% females) from the UK Biobank with physical activity and disease-related genotypes. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and intensity-specific activity was classified according to volume (e.g., MVPA was classified as none, low, medium, and high). Genetic predisposition for CHD, stroke, and AF were classified as low (Quintile 1), intermediate (Quintiles 2-4), and high (Quintile 5).

RESULTS

During 11.6 ± 2.1 years of follow-up: 19,865 CHD; 7907 stroke; and 16,688 AF events occurred. Compared to the no MVPA and high genetic risk group, we observed lower CHD risk for increasing levels of MVPA over and above genetic risk groupings. These associations were primarily driven by vigorous-intensity activity. For example, in the high genetic risk group, those with low vigorous-intensity activity levels (compared to none) had a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.78 (95% confidence interval (95%CI):0.72-0.86) compared to an HR of 0.90 (95%CI: 0.83-0.98) for low moderate-intensity activity levels. For stroke incidence, we observed a protective association for MVPA across genetic risk groups that was mostly driven by moderate-intensity activity volume. Among the high genetic risk group, low moderate-intensity had an HR of 0.77 (95%CI:0.66-0.90), whereas low vigorous-intensity had no association (HR = 0.95, 95%CI:0.82-1.09). We did not observe a consistent joint association of MVPA and AF genetic predisposition.

CONCLUSIONS

We observed lower CHD and stroke risk for low to high MVPA among participants with high genetic predisposition. The associations of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity volume differed considerably across cardiovascular disease sub-types. Overall, our findings suggest vigorous intensity activity may mitigate genetic predisposition for CHD while moderate intensity activity may be associated with similar effects for stroke. Joint associations were less consistent across AF genetic predisposition groups. Our results inform precision medicine approaches and future lifestyle modification interventions by quantifying the potential benefits of physical activity among at-risk individuals.

Change in body size associated with all-cause mortality in an older Chinese population

OBJECTIVE

Evidence of an association between a change in body size and the risk of all-cause mortality is limited among older populations. We explored the association of a change in body size over three years with the risk of all-cause mortality in an older Chinese population.

METHODS

A total of 5134 participants from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were recruited. Cox proportional-hazards models were used to assess the association of changes in body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF%) with risk of all-cause mortality, using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Of the 5134 participants (median age, 81 years; 2716 women [52.90%]), 1494 deaths were observed over a median of 4.08 years of follow-up. Compared with participants with stable body size (change within 5%), those with more than a 10% decrease in BMI or BF% had 36% and 46% higher risks, respectively, of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.17-1.59; and HR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.25-1.72); also, those with more than a 10% increase in BMI or BF% had 22% and 17% higher risks of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05-1.41; and HR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.02-1.35).

CONCLUSIONS

This prospective cohort study of older adults suggests that a dramatic change in body size was positively associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality. More attention should be paid to the effects of a dramatic change in body size, particularly a dramatic decrease in body size, among the Chinese population.

Modification of risk for all-cause and cardiovascular disease-related mortality with changes in the body mass index: a prospective cohort study with 12 years follow up

BACKGROUND

The impact of changes in body mass index (BMI) on the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality has not been extensively studied. We examined whether changes in BMI status over time are associated with risk of all-cause and CVD-related mortality.

METHODS

This longitudinal study recruited 90,258 adults between 2002 and 2008 from the Taiwan MJ cohort who underwent repeated BMI measurements at an interval of 3.3 years and were followed up for all-cause and CVD-related mortality over 12.1 years. Cox proportional hazard and Fine-Gray sub-distribution hazard models with death from non-CVD causes as the competing risk was used to determine the impact of changes in BMI status on the risk of all-cause or CVD-related mortality, respectively.

RESULTS

Over 1,094,606 person-years of follow-up, 2,084 participants died, including 391 (18.8%) CVD-related deaths. After adjusting for other covariates, the risks of all cause (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43-2.43) and CVD-related (aHR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.24-3.93) mortalities were significantly higher in those with a BMI decrease of > 10% than in those with stable BMI. Participants with obesity at baseline who had BMI increase of > 10% during the follow-up period had a significantly higher risk of all-cause (aHR = 2.30; 95% CI:1.38-3.85) and CVD-related mortality (aHR = 3.44; 95% CI:1.33-8.89).

CONCLUSIONS

A BMI decrease of > 10% was associated with a high risk of all-cause and CVD-related mortalities. Thus, those experiencing significant BMI decreases should undergo a comprehensive evaluation to mitigate mortality risks.

Physical activity, cardiovascular disease, and mortality across obesity levels

Aims

High physical activity (PA) is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. However, whether PA can be sufficient to reduce the risk of CVD and mortality contributing to adiposity remains unclear. From the standpoint of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM/3PM), joint assessment of PA and adiposity provides novel insights for individual risk assessment, targeted prevention, and personalized intervention of CVD.

Methods

This prospective cohort study included 92,931 participants in the Kailuan study in Tangshan, followed between the years 2006 and 2020. Adiposity was assessed by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). The CVD incidence and all-cause mortality associated with 3 PA levels (low, medium, and high PA) were analyzed by applying Cox regression models to different adiposity subgroups.

Results

After a median follow-up period of 14.02 years, 9997 incident CVD cases and 12,586 deaths occurred. Surprisingly, low PA and lean body mass were at a lower risk for CVD than other phenotypes. Participants with high PA still had a 35% higher CVD risk from obesity (hazard ratio (HR) BMI: 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18-1.54) and a 10% higher CVD risk from central obesity (HRcentral obesity: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.00-1.21) than those with lean. However, only in obese individuals, high PA has a protective effect on CVD (HR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64-0.95). Overall obesity and high PA were not associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, whereas high PA could not attenuate mortality risk associated with central obesity.

Conclusion

High PA did not attenuate the risk of CVD associated with adiposity compared with lean body mass among the Chinese population, whereas the combination of high PA and healthy WC might improve healthy aging and longevity. In addition, this study revealed the importance of maintaining muscle health in obese individuals via PA or other ways. It provides a novel strategy for mitigating the risk of CVD by exercising intervention or maintaining body mass, thereby enhancing effective prevention and targeted intervention.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13167-025-00397-5.

Association between changes in walking time and all-cause mortality among survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake: the Research Project for Prospective Investigation of Health Problems Among Survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster (RIAS) study

Introduction

Several studies have investigated the association between physical activity (PA) and all-cause mortality. However, no study has systematically examined the association between PA changes and all-cause mortality among residents of disaster-stricken areas. This study aimed to clarify the association between PA changes and the risk of all-cause mortality among survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods

At two time points from 2011 to 2012, 2138 men and 3683 women responded to a question about walking time. The cut-off value was set at 30 min, and PA changes were evaluated using responses regarding walking time over 2 years. Participants were classified into four groups according to PA changes: high stable, increasing, decreasing and low stable. Using a Cox regression model, multivariate-adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for all-cause mortality, according to PA changes, were calculated after adjusting for age, area, smoking status, drinking status, grip strength, psychological distress, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, residential status and current job status.

Results

During the 5-year follow-up, 241 deaths occurred. Compared with that of the high stable group, the decreasing group had a higher risk of all-cause mortality; multivariate-adjusted HRs were 2.40 and 2.43 for men and women, respectively. Among women, the low stable group also had a higher risk of all-cause mortality compared with that of the high stable group.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate the importance of assessing PA and creating an environment to allow its maintenance as early as possible after large-scale natural disasters.

Physical activity levels are positively related to progression-free survival and reduced adverse events in advanced ER+ breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Increased levels of physical activity are associated with a reduction of breast cancer mortality, especially in postmenopausal women with positive hormone receptor status. So far, previous observational case-control and cohort studies have focused on associations between overall leisure time physical activity and survival of women with breast cancer in general.

METHODS

In this multicenter prospective cohort study, conducted in Germany between 30th August 2012 to 29th December 2017, we investigated general physical activity in a homogenous sample of n = 1440 postmenopausal women with advanced (inoperable locally advanced or metastatic), hormone receptor-positive breast cancer receiving the same therapy (everolimus and exemestane). Self-reported physical activity was assessed using the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ) before and every 3 months during treatment. Participants were then classified into "active" and "insufficiently active" to screen their activity behavior the week prior to medical treatment. In addition, changes in physical activity patterns were assessed. Adjusted Cox regression analyses were performed for the activity categories to determine hazard ratios (HR). Besides progression-free survival (PFS), adverse events (AEs), QoL, and fatigue were assessed every 3 months until study termination.

RESULTS

Compared to "insufficiently active" patients, "active" individuals indicated a significantly longer PFS (HR: 0.84 [0.74; 0.984], p = .0295). No significant differences were observed for changes of physical activity behavior. Patients who reported to be "active" at baseline revealed significantly fewer AEs compared to "insufficiently" active patients. In detail, both severe and non-severe AEs occurred less frequently in the "active" patients group. In line with that, QoL and fatigue were better in physical "active" patients compared to their insufficient active counterparts at the last post-baseline assessment. Participants who remained or become active indicated less AEs, a higher QoL, and reduced fatigue levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity behavior prior to medical treatment might have prognostic value in patients with advanced breast cancer in terms of extending the PFS. Moreover, physical activity before and during treatment may reduce treatment-related side effects and improve patients' QoL and fatigue.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

EUPAS9462. Registered 30th October 2012 "retrospectively registered."

Daily Physical Activity Does Not Contribute to Differences in Muscle Oxidative Capacity Between Overweight and Obesity

BACKGROUND

The interaction between physical activity, skeletal muscle health, and adiposity has been explored in normal weight and overweight/obesity grouped together; however, the overall risks associated with being overweight are less than those observed with obesity and can be confounded by disparities in both sex and race. Thus, the present study sought to investigate the intricate interplay of daily physical activity and skeletal muscle oxidative capacity (SMOC) in overweight and obesity, while exploring how sex and race impact this dynamic relationship.

METHODS

One hundred and forty participants were grouped by body mass index (BMI) as overweight (n = 73; BMI >25-<30 kg/m2) or obese (n = 67; BMI ≥30 kg/m2). SMOC was assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy and daily physical activity was assessed for 7 days using accelerometry.

RESULTS

Overweight individuals exhibited a higher (p = 0.004) SMOC and engaged in more (p = 0.007) vigorous physical activity compared to obese individuals. In addition, SMOC was lower (p = 0.005) in obese non-Hispanic Black (NHB) men compared to overweight NHB men. No relationships between physical activity and SMOC were observed.

CONCLUSION

Physical activity is not associated with differences in SMOC in overweight and obesity. Obese individuals engage in less vigorous physical activity and exhibit lower SMOC compared to overweight individuals and these differences are emphasised in NHB men.

Lifestyle-Related Risk Factors and Primary Prevention Strategies for Cardiovascular Diseases in a Middle-Income Country: A Scoping Review and Implication for Future Research

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in middle-income countries such as Malaysia. There is a significant gap in knowledge between cardiovascular disease-related risk assessments and interventions in the Malaysian population. In this scoping review, we have determined the status of cardiovascular research in Malaysia by prioritising lifestyle-related risk assessments and interventions. We searched five electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, APA PsychINFO, Embase and Scopus) to identify relevant research articles that had been published. The Joanna Briggs Institute and the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews served as a guide for the scoping review. Study selection was made using the Covidence platform, screened, and extracted. Thirty-one studies were included in this review. Studies reviewed reported a significant positive association between physical inactivity, smoking, poor dietary patterns, working hours, clustering of lifestyle risk, and cardiovascular disease risk. Most interventions focused on physical activity and a multimodal lifestyle approach, significantly improving primary and secondary cardiovascular disease-related outcomes. The findings suggest improving lifestyle-related risk assessments and interventions to prevent cardiovascular diseases in this population. It is unclear if these outcomes can translate to higher effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, intervention using the multifaceted lifestyle approach can improve cardiovascular disease-related outcomes.

Typical everyday movements cause specific patterns in heart rate

Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Knowledge about the impact of everyday movements on cardiac autonomic regulation is sparse. This study aims to provide evidence that typical everyday movements show a clear impact on heart rate regulation. 40 healthy participants performed two everyday movements: (1) calmly kneeling down ("tie one's shoes") and standing up again and (2) raising the arms to the horizontal ("expressive yawning"). Both movements elicited reproducible pattern in the sequence of heart periods. Local minima and local maxima appeared in the transient period of approx. 30 s. The regulatory response for ergometer cycling, which was used as control, did not show a pattern formation. Calmly performed everyday movements are able to elicit rich cardiac regulatory responses including specific patterns in heart rate. These newly described patterns have multiple implications for clinical and rehabilitative medicine, basic research, digital health data processing, and public health. If carried out regularly these regulatory responses may help to mitigate the burden of physical inactivity and enrich cardiovascular regulation.

Physical activity is associated with lower mortality in adults with obesity: a systematic review with meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a complex chronic disease associated with several adverse health outcomes that increase mortality risk. Physical activity (PA) is recommended for the prevention and treatment of obesity and is related to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality. This systematic review and meta-analysis estimates the effect of PA levels on mortality (cardiovascular, cancer and all-cause mortality) in adults with obesity.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus from inception to June 2024. Prospective cohort studies that explored the association between PA and mortality in adults with obesity (according to their body mass index, ≥ 30 kg/m2) aged ≥ 18 years were included. Our main outcomes were all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular, and cancer mortality reported in primary studies by hazard ratios or relative risk, which were pooled for the meta-analysis when at least two studies reported the effect estimate for the same outcome. The PRISMA recommendations and the MOOSE guidelines were followed. The reported mortality risk estimates comparing insufficiently active versus active (moderate to very active) adults with obesity were pooled using the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model.

RESULTS

A total of 9 prospective cohort studies involving 199,425 adults with obesity (age range: 35-85 years) were included, of which 59,873 were insufficiently active and 84,328 were active. Active individuals had a 21% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.74 to 0.84; I2 = 38.2%), and a 24% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.66 to 0.87; I2 = 0.0%) than insufficiently active individuals. The HR for cancer mortality was 0.91 (95%CI: 0.80 to 1.02; I2 = 0.0%), and although this was mostly consistent with a benefit, it was based on only two studies.

CONCLUSION

Our data support that moderate to high levels of PA are associated with a 21% lower risk of all-cause and 24% cardiovascular disease mortality in adults with obesity. Although data from the only two published studies seem to indicate a protective effect of PA on cancer risk, the estimates are not statistically significant.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42022309346.

Changes in sleep score and leisure-time physical activity, their combination, and all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older Chinese adults: The Dongfeng-Tongji cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To prospectively investigate the associations of longitudinal changes in sleep score and LTPA and their combination with all-cause mortality.

METHODS

Among 12,543 participants (mean age: 66.1 years) from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort, we calculated sleep score (range, 0-4, integrating bedtime, sleep duration, sleep quality, and midday napping, higher score indicating healthier sleep) and LTPA at baseline (2008-2010) and the first follow-up (2013) surveys and their 5-year changes (defining stable sleep score as no change and stable LTPA as change within 150 min/week). We prospectively documented deaths from the first follow-up survey (2013) through December 31, 2018.

RESULTS

During a mean 5.5-year follow-up, 792 deaths occurred. The 5-year changes in sleep score and LTPA were inversely associated with all-cause mortality risk, regardless of their initial values. When assessing 5-year changes in sleep score and LTPA jointly, compared with the stable sleep score-stable LTPA group, the decreased sleep score-decreased LTPA group had a 40 % (5-85 %) higher all-cause mortality risk, whereas the increased sleep score-increased LTPA group had a 34 % (9-52 %) lower risk. The direction of the joint association was mainly driven by sleep score change. Participants maintaining sleep scores ≥ 3 and LTPA ≥ 150 min/week over 5 years had a 44 % (28-56 %) lower all-cause mortality risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Promoting sleep hygiene and LTPA together may benefit efforts in reducing mortality risk, with particular attention to monitoring long-term sleep health.

Exercise-induced β2-adrenergic Receptor Activation Enhances the Antileukemic Activity of Expanded γδ T-Cells via DNAM-1 Upregulation and PVR/Nectin-2 Recognition

Exercise mobilizes cytotoxic lymphocytes to blood which may allow superior cell products to be harvested and manufactured for cancer therapy. Gamma-Delta (γδ) T-cells have shown promise for treating solid tumors, but there is a need to increase their potency against hematologic malignancies. Here, we show that human γδ T-cells mobilized to blood in response to just 20 minutes of graded exercise have surface phenotypes and transcriptomic profiles associated with cytotoxicity, adhesion, migration, and cytokine signaling. Following 14 days ex vivo expansion with zoledronic acid and IL2, exercise mobilized γδ T-cells had surface phenotypes and transcriptomic profiles associated with enhanced effector functions and demonstrated superior cytotoxic activity against multiple hematologic tumors in vitro and in vivo in leukemia-bearing xenogeneic mice. Infusing humans with the β1+β2-agonist isoproterenol and administering β1 or β1+β2 antagonists prior to exercise revealed these effects to be β2-adrenergic receptor (AR) dependent. Antibody blocking of DNAM-1 on expanded γδ T-cells, as well as the DNAM-1 ligands PVR and Nectin-2 on leukemic targets, abolished the enhanced antileukemic effects of exercise. These findings provide a mechanistic link between exercise, β2-AR activation, and the manufacture of superior γδ T-cell products for adoptive cell therapy against hematologic malignancies.

SIGNIFICANCE

Exercise mobilizes effector γδ T-cells to blood via β2-adrenergic signaling which allows for generation of a potent expanded γδ T-cell product that is highly cytotoxic against hematologic malignancies.

Association between change in cardiorespiratory fitness and prostate cancer incidence and mortality in 57 652 Swedish men

OBJECTIVES

To examine the associations between changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in adulthood and prostate cancer incidence and mortality.

METHODS

In this prospective study, men who completed an occupational health profile assessment including at least two valid submaximal CRF tests, performed on a cycle ergometer, were included in the study. Data on prostate cancer incidence and mortality were derived from national registers. HRs and CIs were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression with inverse probability treatment weights of time-varying covariates.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up time of 6.7 years (SD 4.9), 592 (1%) of the 57 652 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 46 (0.08%) died with prostate cancer as the primary cause of death. An increase in absolute CRF (as % of L/min) was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer incidence (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99) but not mortality, in the fully adjusted model. When participants were grouped as having increased (+3%), stable (±3%) or decreased (-3%) CRF, those with increased fitness also had a reduced risk of prostate cancer incidence compared with those with decreased fitness (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.86), in the fully adjusted model.

CONCLUSION

In this study of employed Swedish men, change in CRF was inversely associated with risk of prostate cancer incidence, but not mortality. Change in CRF appears to be important for reducing the risk of prostate cancer.

Adiposity indices and their higher predictive value for new-onset hypertension in metabolically healthy young women: findings from a population-based prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The present study aimed to investigate the predictive ability of selected adiposity indices, such as body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), for new-onset hypertension in metabolically healthy Taiwanese adults. The study also sought to establish sex-specific cutoff points for these indices and to analyze the risk of new-onset hypertension, taking into account sex and age.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study utilized the Taiwan Biobank database to examine metabolically healthy participants aged between 20 and 65 at baseline. Four adiposity indices, namely BMI, WHR, WC, and WHtR, were calculated and used to predict new-onset hypertension over 4 years. Receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) and areas under the curve (AUCs) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the parameters in predicting new-onset hypertension over 4 years. Sex-specific cutoff points were identified and used to assess the risk of new-onset hypertension.

RESULTS

This study analyzed 13,375 participants over 4.28 years. The incidence of new-onset hypertension was 17.65%. The new-onset rate of hypertension was 34.39% in men and 65.61% in women. Adiposity indices effectively predict new-onset hypertension, with WHtR having the highest predictive value (i.e., AUC) for both sexes. The classification of participants into low and high categories for each adiposity index was based on sex-specific cutoff points, and the risk of new-onset hypertension was assessed according to sex and age. This study found that high adiposity indices predicted a significantly higher risk of new-onset hypertension in metabolically healthy adults. The risk was equal for both sexes. Young women had a higher risk of new-onset hypertension than middle-aged women when they were further categorized. All risk ratios of the indices in young women were over two-fold and significant.

CONCLUSION

According to the sex-specific cutoff point, high adiposity indices had a higher predictive value for new-onset hypertension in metabolically healthy Taiwanese young women.

Modification of incident cancer risk with changes in metabolic syndrome status: A prospective cohort study in Taiwan

PURPOSE

We aimed to investigate the effect of altered metabolic syndrome (MetS) status on cancer risk.

METHODS

From 2002 through 2008 of the Taiwan MJ cohort, there were 111,616 adults who had repeated MetS measurements performed 3.3 years apart and were followed up for cancer incidence over 11.8 years. Cancer was confirmed based on histopathological reports.

RESULTS

Participants were categorized as MetS-free (n = 80,409; no MetS at the first or last health screening), MetS-developed (n = 9833; MetS absence at the first screening and presence at the last screening), MetS-recovered (n = 8958; MetS presence at the first screening and absence at the last screening), and MetS-persisted (n = 12,416; MetS presence at the first and last screenings). We used the Fine-Gray sub-distribution method, with death as competing risk, to determine the association between MetS changes and incident cancer risk. During 1320,796 person-years of follow-up, 5862 individuals developed cancer. The incidence rate of cancer per 1000 person-years was 3.89 in the MetS-free, 5.26 in MetS-developed, 4.61 in MetS-recovered, and 7.33 in MetS-persisted groups (P < .001). Compared with the MetS-free group, MetS-persisted individuals had a higher risk of incident cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Persistent MetS was found to be associated with a high risk of incident cancer.

Skinfold Thickness as a Cardiometabolic Risk Predictor in Sedentary and Active Adult Populations

Studies report that increased body fat can lead to health risks for individuals. However, some methods used for analyzing adiposity did not identify its distribution in the human body because they are typically measured using bioimpedance scales. This study aims to associate the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors in sedentary and active adult populations through anthropometric methods based on skinfold thickness measurements. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 946 adults aged between 18 and 79 years with prior informed consent. Clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical parameters, as well as some cardiometabolic risk factors, were evaluated. Almost half of the population (45.1%; n = 427) is sedentary. A significant association was found between the sum of the skinfolds (bicipital, tricipital, subscapular, and suprailiac) and the cardiometabolic risk factors evaluated, highlighting the cardiovascular risk associated with abdominal obesity, risk of insulin resistance, as well as the development of hyperglycemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. The bicipital fold was thicker (19.67 mm) in the population with a sedentary lifestyle than in the physically active population (18.30 mm). Furthermore, the skinfolds that predict higher metabolic risks were suprailiac and subscapular in sedentary and active populations. Thus, these skinfold measurements could be considered in assessing the adult population for early cardiometabolic risk detection, even in healthy and physically active people.

Wearable Leg Movement Monitoring System for High-Precision Real-Time Metabolic Energy Estimation and Motion Recognition

Comprehensive and quantitative assessment of human physical activity in daily life is valuable for healthcare, especially for those who suffer from obesity and neurological disorders or are at high risk of dementia. Common wearable devices, e.g., smartwatches, are insufficient and inaccurate for monitoring highly dynamic limb movements and assessing human motion. Here, we report a new wearable leg movement monitoring system incorporating a custom-made motion sensor with machine learning algorithm to perceive human motion accurately and comprehensively during diverse walking and running actions. The system enables real-time multimodal perceptions of personal identity, motion state, locomotion speed, and energy expenditure for wearers. A general law of extracting real-time metabolic energy from leg movements is verified although individual gaits show differences. In addition, we propose a novel sensing configuration combining unilateral lower leg movement velocity with its angular rate to achieve high accuracy and good generalizability while simplifying the wearable system. Advanced performances in personal identification (accuracy of 98.7%) and motion-state recognition (accuracy of 93.7%) are demonstrated. The wearable system also exhibites high-precision real-time estimations of locomotion speed (error of 3.04% to 9.68%) and metabolic energy (error of 4.18% to 14.71%) for new subjects across various time-varying conditions. The wearable system allows reliable leg movement monitoring and quantitative assessment of bodily kinematic and kinetic behaviors during daily activities, as well as safe identity authentication by gait parameters, which would greatly facilitate smart life, personal healthcare, and rehabilitation training.

Effects of 8-Week Online, Supervised High-Intensity Interval Training on the Parameters Related to the Anaerobic Threshold, Body Weight, and Body Composition during Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

We aimed to assess the effects of an 8-week, online high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program on the parameters related to the anaerobic threshold (AT), body weight, and body composition in pregnant women. A total of 69 Caucasian women with an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy (age: 31 ± 4 years; gestational age: 22 ± 5 weeks; mean ± standard deviation) were randomly allocated to either an 8-week HIIT program (HIIT group) or to a comparative 8-week educational program (EDU group). Our most important finding was that even with the 8-week progression of pregnancy and physiological weight gain, the HIIT group maintained the same level of parameters related to AT: volume of oxygen at the AT (VO2/AT), percentage of maximal oxygen uptake at the AT (%VO2max/AT), and heart rate at the AT (HR/AT). In contrast, in the EDU group we observed a substantial deterioration of parameters related to the AT. The HIIT intervention substantially reduced the fat mass percentage (median: 30 to 28%; p < 0.01) and improved the total fat-free mass percentage (median: 70% to 72%; p < 0.01). In the EDU group, the body composition did not change significantly. An online, supervised HIIT program may be used to prevent the pregnancy-related risk of excessive weight gain and reduction in exercise capacity without yielding adverse obstetric or neonatal outcomes.

Impact of Systemic Comorbidities on Ocular Hypertension and Open-Angle Glaucoma, in a Population from Spain and Portugal

Open-angle glaucoma (OAG), the most prevalent clinical type of glaucoma, is still the main cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. OAG is a neurodegenerative illness for which the most important risk factor is elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Many questions remain unanswered about OAG, such as whether nutritional or toxic habits, other personal characteristics, and/or systemic diseases influence the course of glaucoma. As such, in this study, we performed a multicenter analytical, observational, case–control study of 412 participants of both sexes, aged 40–80 years, that were classified as having ocular hypertension (OHT) or OAG. Our primary endpoint was to investigate the relationship between specific lifestyle habits; anthropometric and endocrine–metabolic, cardiovascular, and respiratory events; and commonly used psychochemicals, with the presence of OHT or OAG in an ophthalmologic population from Spain and Portugal. Demographic, epidemiological, and ocular/systemic clinical data were recorded from all participants. Data were analyzed using the R Statistics v4.1.2 and RStudio v2021.09.1 programs. The mean age was 62 ± 15 years, with 67–80 years old comprising the largest subgroup sample of participants in both study groups. The central corneal thickness (ultrasound pachymetry)-adjusted IOP (Goldman tonometry) in each eye was 20.46 ± 2.35 and 20.1 ± 2.73 mmHg for the OHT individuals, and 15.8 ± 3.83 and 16.94 ± 3.86 mmHg for the OAG patients, with significant differences between groups (both p = 0.001). The highest prevalence of the surveyed characteristics in both groups was for overweight/obesity and daily coffee consumption, followed by psychochemical drug intake, migraine, and peripheral vasospasm. Our data show that overweight/obesity, migraine, asthma, and smoking are major risk factors for conversion from OHT to OAG in this Spanish and Portuguese population.