Prevalence risk of sarcopenia in older Brazilian adults during the pandemic: A cross-sectional analysis of the Remobilize Study.

BACKGROUND: Social distancing has led to lifestyle changes among older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence risk of sarcopenia (RS) and investigate its associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in older Brazilian adults. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional observational analysis of baseline data as part of the Remobilize Study. METHODS: Participants in the study were older adults (≥ 60 years), excluding those who were bedridden or institutionalized. The data collected consisted of answers about the RS (SARC-F), functional status, walking, sedentary behavior (SB), pain, comorbidity, and life space mobility. RESULTS: A total of 1,482 older adults (70 ± 8.14 years, 74% women) participated in the study, and an RS prevalence of 17.1% was found. (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.25-19.15%). The adjusted multivariate model showed a significant association between RS and functional limitation (odds ratio [OR]: 19.05; CI 13.00-28.32), comorbidity (OR: 5.11; CI 3.44-7.81), pain (OR: 4.56; CI 3.33-6.28), total walking (OR: 0.99; CI 0.99-1.00), SB of 8-10 hours (OR: 1.85; CI 1.15-2.93), and SB of > 10 hours (OR: 3.93; CI 2.48-6.22). RS was associated with mobility during the pandemic (OR: 0.97; CI 0.96-0.98). P < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: During the pandemic, the prevalence of RS in older Brazilians was estimated at 17.1%. Moderate to severe functional limitation, comorbidities, presence of pain, walking, longer SB period, and reduced life space mobility significantly contributed to RS in older adults during the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mobility of older adults: A scoping review.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify the most frequent determinants of contact limitation on older adults' mobility addressed by the recommendations to mitigate mobility limitation during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify the recommendations characteristics and means of dissemination that might guide coping actions. BACKGROUND: Measures for physical contact restriction were implemented to prevent COVID-19 spread. These measures directly impacted older people, reducing their mobility, especially outside home environment. Health systems worldwide need to be prepared to implement strategies to mitigate negative effects of reduced mobility in this population. DESIGN: Scoping review using Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. METHOD: Therefore, a scoping review was conducted in LILACS, CINAHL, MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE and SCOPUS databases. Documents and reports with recommendations from government agencies were also consulted. Results were presented in a narrative synthesis based on a conceptual model of mobility proposed by Webber (The Gerontologist, 2010, 50, 443) regarding the most frequently addressed determinants, characteristics of the proposed interventions, and means of dissemination for the older person population. FINDINGS: Twenty-eight studies were selected for the final sample. According to Webber's model, most articles (n = 14) presented the impacts on mobility from the perspective of physical determinants, relating this aspect to biological losses in the musculoskeletal system, and a minority assessed mobility in vital spaces, encompassing environmental (n = 3) and financial (n = 1) determinants. Also, the most frequent recommendation was that physical activity promotes maintenance of mobility and prevents the occurrence of adverse results, such as falls, fractures and functional decline. As to dissemination, digital technologies were recognised as a strategy to motivate, instruct and monitor exercise practice to increase mobility in older adults. CONCLUSION: The main conditions related to the decline in mobility of older adults during COVID-19 pandemic were physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle. The practice of physical activity is widespread and needs to be adapted according to individual needs. Finally, digital technologies are essential tools in this period, but other alternatives should also be considered for low-income seniors. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: It is hoped that the gaps identified through this scoping review can help enhance the discussion on the broader assessment of mobility in older adults and the design of interventions when contact restriction is a reality.

Coffee Consumption during the COVID Pandemic in a Portuguese Sample: An Online Exploratory Study.

BACKGROUND: Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide and is part of the Portuguese lifestyles. This study aims to describe coffee consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic, the change in consumption, the relation between work and familiar pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic and coffee consumption, and the reasons for this consumption pattern. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted by an online questionnaire (n = 463) between March and June 2020. During the data collection phase, information about coffee consumption and socio-demographic characteristics were gathered. RESULTS: All respondents were and are coffee consumers. The coffee average intake before the COVID-19 pandemic was 2.40 ± 0.84 cups of coffee per day, and the average consumption during the COVID-19 confinement was 2.68 ± 0.88 cups. Consumption increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a correlation between the consumption changes and the familiar or work pressure was not found. The general reasons for the increase in the coffee consumption were "social/cultural" (27%), "the search for energy "boost"" (22.9%), "to feel awake" (22.7%), "to deal with stress" (22.7%) and "the taste" (21.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the ever-increasing popularity of coffee consumption. Respondents also highlighted that some situations make them more prone to consume coffee consumption, such as when they face stress and the need to control tiredness. The COVID pandemic depleted a change in behaviors.

COVID-19 activity screening by a smart-data-driven multi-band voice analysis.

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the new coronavirus SARS-COV-2 which can lead to severe respiratory infections. Since its first detection it caused more than six million worldwide deaths. COVID-19 diagnosis non-invasive and low-cost methods with faster and accurate results are still needed for a fast disease control. In this research, 3 different signal analyses have been applied (per broadband, per sub-bands and per broadband & sub-bands) to Cough, Breathing & Speech signals of Coswara dataset to extract non-linear patterns (Energy, Entropies, Correlation Dimension, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, Lyapunov Exponent & Fractal Dimensions) for feeding a XGBoost classifier to discriminate COVID-19 activity on its different stages. Classification accuracies ranged between 83.33% and 98.46% have been achieved, surpassing the state-of-art methods in some comparisons. It should be empathized the 98.46% of accuracy reached on pair Healthy Controls vs all COVID-19 stages. The results shows that the method may be adequate for COVID-19 diagnosis screening assistance.

Anxiety and Coping Stress Strategies in Researchers During COVID-19 Pandemic.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, leading to changes in one's personal and working life. Researchers have undergone extensive changes in their roles, mainly in the area of health care, with research into the virus now the priority. Aim: To assess the anxiety, depression, stress, fears, and coping strategies of Portuguese researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants and Methods: A total of 243 researchers, with an average age of 37.9 ± 9.6, participated in an online questionnaire. The study was performed between 1 June 2021 and 11 August 2021. The questionnaire included depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS-21), fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), and coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS). Results: The findings suggest being female and younger seem to be related to more significant fears. Singles and younger researchers showed higher values of stress, depression, and anxiety. Research areas, such as medical and health sciences, presented higher levels in the DASS-21 depression and stress scale (p < 0.05). Also, the results showed a moderate or moderate strong significant positive linear relationship between the scales (p < 0.001): DASS-21 stress, DASS-21 anxiety, and DASS-21 depression (r > 0.70); CISS-21 emotional-oriented with DASS-21 stress (r = 0.683), DASS-21 depression (r = 0.622), and DASS-21 anxiety (r = 0.557); and emotional fear and cognitive fear (r = 0.652). Conclusion: The findings of this study support the growing concern for the psychological well-being of researchers and the need for intervention with more extensive and diverse studies.

Anxiety and Coping Stress Strategies in Researchers During COVID-19 Pandemic

The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, leading to changes in one's personal and working life. Researchers have undergone extensive changes in their roles, mainly in the area of health care, with research into the virus now the priority. Aim To assess the anxiety, depression, stress, fears, and coping strategies of Portuguese researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants and Methods A total of 243 researchers, with an average age of 37.9 ± 9.6, participated in an online questionnaire. The study was performed between 1 June 2021 and 11 August 2021. The questionnaire included depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS-21), fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), and coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS). Results The findings suggest being female and younger seem to be related to more significant fears. Singles and younger researchers showed higher values of stress, depression, and anxiety. Research areas, such as medical and health sciences, presented higher levels in the DASS-21 depression and stress scale (p < 0.05). Also, the results showed a moderate or moderate strong significant positive linear relationship between the scales (p < 0.001): DASS-21 stress, DASS-21 anxiety, and DASS-21 depression (r > 0.70);CISS-21 emotional-oriented with DASS-21 stress (r = 0.683), DASS-21 depression (r = 0.622), and DASS-21 anxiety (r = 0.557);and emotional fear and cognitive fear (r = 0.652). Conclusion The findings of this study support the growing concern for the psychological well-being of researchers and the need for intervention with more extensive and diverse studies.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Life-Space Mobility of Older Adults Living in Brazil: REMOBILIZE Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic hit Brazil in a scenario of substantial socioeconomic and health inequalities. It is unknown the immediate impact of social restriction recommendations (i.e., lockdown, stay-at-home) on the life-space mobility of older people. Objective: To investigate the immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on life-space mobility of community-dwelling Brazilian older adults and examine the social determinants of health associated with change in life-space mobility. Design: Baseline data from a prospective cohort study (REMOBILIZE Study). Setting: Community. Subject: A convenience snowball sample of participants aged 60 and older (n = 1,482) living in 22 states in Brazil. Methods: We conducted an online and phone survey using an adapted version of the Life-Space Assessment (LSA). Linear regression models were used to investigate social determinants of health on the change in LSA score. Results: Regardless of their gender and social determinants of health, participants showed a significant reduction in life-space mobility since COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Life-space mobility reduction was higher among black individuals, those living alone and aged between 70 and 79. Other variables associated with change in life-space mobility, to a lesser extent, were sex, education and income. Conclusion: Social restriction measures due to pandemic caused substantial reduction in older adults' life-space mobility in Brazil. Social inequalities strongly affected vulnerable groups. Concerted actions should be put in place to overcome the deterioration in life-pace mobility amongst these groups. Failure in minimizing health inequalities amplified by the pandemic may jeopardize the desired achievements of the Decade of Healthy Aging.

Anxiety impact during COVID-19: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 epidemic has been causing serious physical, but also psychological effects in society. This systematic review sought to identify studies that describe COVID-19 related anxiety, and to understand the impact of anxiety assessment in defining strategies to be implemented in future studies. METHODOLOGY: This systematic review included cross-sectional studies with no publication year limit. It was performed a systematic search through three databases, namely, PubMed, Science Direct and Web of Science using the descriptors "COVID-19" and "anxiety". PRISMA criteria reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses were applied. Eligible articles were selected in accordance with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria were: research articles related with anxiety measurement during the COVID-19 outbreak; interventions to reduce anxiety; and published in English. RESULTS: From 44 references, just four scientific articles were accepted for inclusion within this review. These studies were analyzed regarding their sample, methodology, instruments used, and its results. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review was based on published data at the onset of the pandemic, and it could serve as a basis for the development of implementations plans to improve anxiety disorders. The importance of this theme, the implications and potential directions for future investigations will be discussed.