Impact of the pandemic on leisure physical activity and alcohol consumption.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated heightened morbidity and elevated mortality attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The pandemic also influenced health behaviors such as physical activity (PA) and alcohol consumption. The aim of this study was to examine changes in leisure PA and alcohol consumption in Sweden during the pandemic, and elucidate potential discrepancies in changes across demographic strata and socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS: Data were retrieved from two waves of the longitudinal cohort study Life conditions, Stress and Health (LSH) (n = 2,523). Two measures of change were used; longitudinal change relative to baseline (2012-2015) and reported change compared to before the pandemic. For these two change measures, differences between sex, age group and SES were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Regardless of the change measure, the proportion of individuals with diminished PA was notably higher among females compared to males. Furthermore, relative to baseline, females were less likely to have increased their PA, however according to the reported change they were more likely to have increased PA. Longitudinal change in PA compared to baseline followed a reversed age gradient, while, according to reported change, a decrease in PA during the pandemic was most prevalent in respondents 45 years of age at baseline (OR = 1.8, CI: 1.2-2.5) and respondents 50 years of age at baseline (OR = 1.7, CI: 1.2-2.4). High SES was associated with a greater variability in PA. Alcohol consumption was generally reduced during the pandemic. However, individuals aged 40 or 45 years at baseline were more likely than others to have initiated risky alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Females exhibited a greater propensity to alter their PA levels during the pandemic, with the most profound decreases observed among individuals of working ages. Despite a general downturn in alcohol consumption, individuals aged 40 and 45 had a heightened likelihood of having initiated risky alcohol consumption compared to individuals in other age cohorts. In conclusion, societal restrictions during a pandemic render a dual impact on PA levels. While posing a risk for decreased PA among individuals in working ages, the restrictions also present a potential window of opportunity to increase PA, particularly among females.

Disease prevalence and number of health care visits among members of a nationwide sports organization compared to matched controls.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity has positive effects on several diseases and may reduce the risk of morbidity and the mortality rate. Whether the prevalence of disease and health care consumption differ between the members of sports organizations and the general population has not been established. Hence, this pilot study aimed to compare the prevalence of diseases known to be associated with physical inactivity and health care consumption in members of a large non-profit sports organization and an age-, sex- and geographically matched random sample from the general population. METHODS: Subjects in two Swedish cities who exercised at least once a week and had been members for at least two years in the non-profit sports organization Friskis&Svettis were invited. A randomized age-, sex- and geographically matched sample was drawn from the general population. Data on disease prevalence (by International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes) and health care consumption were retrieved using the members' personal identification numbers through a regional health care database. Between-group differences in the prevalence of disease were compared using chi2-tests and logistic regression between members and controls. Health care consumption was defined as the number of visits, stratified by primary and hospital care, and was compared using chi2-tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests. RESULTS: In total, 3015 subjects were included in each group (response rate 11%). Controls had higher prevalence rates of musculoskeletal diseases (13.3% vs. 11.6%, p = 0.047), metabolic disease (10.4% vs. 5.4%, p < 0.001), hypertension (16.6% vs. 11.7%, p < 0.001), psychiatric diseases (8.9% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.012) and lung cancer (0.4% vs. 0%, p = 0.001) than the members. The total number of health care contacts was 22% higher in the controls than in the members, whereas the proportion of subjects with at least one health care visit was larger in the members (89% vs. 79%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rates of lifestyle diseases related to musculoskeletal, metabolic and psychiatric diseases, hypertension and lung cancer, and the overall health care consumption, were lower among members of a sports organization than among controls. However, longitudinal studies are needed to establish a cause-effect relationship between membership and disease development.

SF-36 predicts 13-year CHD incidence in a middle-aged Swedish general population.

PURPOSE: To study the predictive ability of each of the eight scales of SF-36 on 13-year all-cause mortality and incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in a general middle-aged population. METHODS: The population-based, longitudinal "Life-conditions, Stress and Health" study, in 2003-2004 enrolled 1007 persons aged 45-69 years (50% female), randomly sampled from the general population in Östergötland, Sweden. Variables at baseline included the SF-36 (health-related quality of life, HRQoL) and self-reported disease. Incident CHD (morbidity and mortality) and all-cause mortality data for the study population during the first 13 years from baseline were obtained from national Swedish registries. RESULTS: Seven of the eight SF-36 scales predicted CHD (sex- and age-adjusted Hazard Ratios up to 2.15; p ≤ 0.05), while only the Physical Functioning scale significantly predicted all-cause mortality. Further adjustments for presence of (self-reported) disease did not, in most cases, alter these significant predictions. CONCLUSION: Low SF-36 scores predict risk of CHD, also after adjustment for present disease, supporting the biopsychosocial model of health and disease. Measures of HRQoL yield important information and can add to the cardiopreventive toolbox, including primary prevention efforts, as it is such a simple and relatively inexpensive tool.

Associations of Psychosocial Factors with Multiple Health Behaviors: A Population-Based Study of Middle-Aged Men and Women.

Background: The health behaviors smoking, risky alcohol consumption, insufficient physical activity, and poor diet constitute the main contributors to non-communicable diseases. Clustering of risk behaviors is common and increases the risk of these diseases. Despite health benefits, it is difficult to change health behaviors. Psychosocial factors could play a role in health behavior change, with research showing relationships between unfavorable psychosocial factors and health risk behaviors. However, many studies only investigated one or two health behaviors at a time. The present study, therefore, aimed to investigate associations between a broad range of psychosocial factors and multiple health risk behaviors in a general middle-aged population in Sweden. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to investigate a random sample from the general population in Sweden (n = 1007, 45-69 years, 50% women). Questionnaire data on health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and fruit/vegetable intake) and psychosocial factors, with both psychological and social resources (social integration, emotional support, perceived control, self-esteem, sense of coherence and trust) and psychological risk factors (cynicism, vital exhaustion, hopelessness and depressiveness), were analyzed. Logistic and ordinal logistic regression were used to analyze associations between psychosocial factors and multiple (0-1, 2 or 3-4) health risk behaviors. Results: A total of 50% of the sample had two health risk behaviors and 18% had three health risk behaviors. After adjusting for age, sex, education, employment status, and immigrant status, eight out of 10 psychosocial factors (exceptions: social integration and self-esteem) showed significant odds ratios (ORs) in the expected directions; low levels of psychosocial resources and high levels of psychosocial risk factors were associated with multiple risk behaviors. The strongest associations with multiple risk behaviors were seen for vital exhaustion (adjusted (adj.) OR 1.28; confidence interval (CI) 1.11-1.46), depressiveness (adj. OR 1.32, CI 1.14-1.52), and trust (adj. OR 0.80, CI 0.70-0.91). When controlling for all psychosocial factors in the same model, only the association with trust remained statistically significant (adj. OR 0.89, CI 0.73-1.00, p = 0.050). Associations with individual health behaviors were fewer and scattered, with no psychosocial factor being related to all four behaviors. Conclusions: Examining associations between a broad range of psychosocial factors and multiple health risk behaviors revealed consistent and significant associations for almost all psychosocial factors. These associations were stronger compared to associations to single health risk behaviors. Our findings support the relevance of considering psychosocial aspects in interventions aimed at health behavior change, especially for people with multiple health risk behaviors.

Brain functional connectivity is associated with visceral sensitivity in women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Increased perception of visceral stimuli is a key feature of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). While altered resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) has been also reported in IBS, the relationship between visceral hypersensitivity and aberrant rsFC is unknown. We therefore assessed rsFC within the salience, sensorimotor and default mode networks in patients with and without visceral hypersensitivity and in healthy controls (HCs). An exploratory resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study was performed in 41 women with IBS and 20 HCs. Group independent component analysis was used to derive intrinsic brain networks. Rectal thresholds were determined and patients were subdivided into groups with increased (hypersensitive IBS, N = 21) or normal (normosensitive IBS, N = 20) visceral sensitivity. Between-group comparisons of rsFC were carried-out using region-of-interest analyses and peak rsFC values were extracted for correlational analyses. Relative to normosensitive IBS, hypersensitive patients showed increased positive rsFC of pregenual anterior cingulate cortex and thalamus within the salience network and of posterior insula within the sensorimotor network. When compared to both hypersensitive IBS and HCs, normosensitive IBS showed decreased positive rsFC of amygdala and decreased negative rsFC in dorsal anterior insula within the DMN. DMN and sensorimotor network rsFC were associated with rectal perception thresholds, and rsFC in posterior insula was correlated with reported symptom severity in IBS. Our exploratory findings suggest that visceral sensitivity in IBS is related to changes in FC within resting-state networks associated with interoception, salience and sensory processing. These alterations may play an important role in hypervigilance and hyperalgesia in IBS.