Analysis of the association between high workload and musculoskeletal pain in public school teachers according to physical activity level.

BACKGROUND: A high workload has been associated with musculoskeletal pain in public school teachers. However, the hypothesis of the present study was that physical activity (PA) practice is able to attenuate this association. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the associations between high workload with musculoskeletal pain according to PA levels in public school teachers. METHODS: Teachers (n = 239) from 13 public schools were evaluated. Workload was assessed using a Likert scale in which teachers reported their perception of their work routine as: very low, low, regular, high, and very high. Musculoskeletal pain and PA were assessed using questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the association of high workload with PA levels and musculoskeletal pain in different body regions, compared to participants with normal workload, adjusted by sex, age, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: A high workload was associated with higher chances of reporting pain in the wrists and hands (OR = 3.55; 95% CI = 1.27-9.89), knee (OR = 3.09; 95CI%  = 1.09-8.82), and feet and ankles (OR = 3.16; 95% CI = 1.03-9.76) in less active teachers. However, these associations were not observed in teachers considered more active. CONCLUSION: PA practice is able to act as a good protector against musculoskeletal pain in teachers, even in individuals with a high workload.

Screen time is negatively associated with sleep quality and duration only in insufficiently active adolescents: A Brazilian cross-sectional school-based study.

Background: Time spent on screen devices affects sleep quality and duration leading to several health impairments in youth. Although physical activity (PA) benefits sleep patterns and decreases screen time in adolescents, it is unclear whether the relationship between sleep quality/duration and screen time could be influenced by PA levels. Objective: To analyze the association between sleep quality and duration with screen time in Brazilian adolescents according PA levels. Methods: The sample included 1010 adolescents aged 13.2 ± 2.4 years (n = 556 females - 55 % of the sample). Sleep quality and sleep duration, and PA were assessed by Mini Sleep and Baecke questionnaires, respectively. Participants in the highest quartile were classified as physically active. Screen time was analyzed by the self-reported number of hours spent on different screen devices (i.e., television, computer, videogame, and cellphone/tablet). Participants in the highest tertile were classified as having high screen time. Sex, age, and body mass index were considered covariates in binary logistic regression models. Results: Poor sleep quality was observed in 52.3 % of the sample, whereas 46.6 % reported sleeping less than eight hours/day. High screen time was associated with poor sleep quality (OR = 1.45; 95 %CI = 1.01-2.12) and insufficient sleep duration (OR = 1.52; 95 %CI = 1.01-2.03) in adolescents insufficiently active. There were no associations between screen time and sleep parameters in active adolescents. Conclusion: High screen time was associated with poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep duration only in insufficiently active adolescents. These results suggest that high PA levels may contribute to improving sleep patterns in pediatric population.

Relationship of household composition with sedentary behavior and eating habits of 102,072 adolescents: A representative sample of Brazil (PeNSE Study).

PURPOSE: The household composition is important for adolescents and understanding its relationship with their lifestyle habits is essential. This study aimed to analyze the relationship of household composition with sedentary behavior and eating habits of adolescents. METHODS: This study analyzed data from the Brazilian National Scholar Health Survey-PeNSE 2015. The sample was composed by 102,072 adolescents (11-17 years). The independent variable of the study was the household composition (living with both parents versus living with only one parent or none of them), whereas outcome variables were eating habits and sedentary behavior patterns. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between variables. RESULTS: Adolescents living with both parents were less likely to have high sedentary behavior (≥2 h OR = 0.89; ≥4 h OR = 0.86), eat while watching TV for ≥5 days/week (OR = 0.88), frequent fried foods (OR = 0.89), sweets (OR = 0.92), soft drinks (OR = 0.86) and ultra processed foods (OR = 0.97) consumption, as were more likely to have lunch with parents (OR = 1.87), frequent vegetables (OR = 1.12), beans (OR = 1.14) and fruits (OR = 1.11) consumption than those who live with one parent or none of them. CONCLUSION: Households composed by both father and mother was associated with lower sedentary behavior and healthy eating habits in Brazilian adolescents.

Effect of physical activity on the relationship between adiposity and cardiac autonomic modulation in female breast cancer survivors: a longitudinal study.

This longitudinal study aimed to analyze the influence of physical activity (PA) on the relationship between body adiposity and cardiac autonomic modulation (CAM) in women survivors of breast cancer. We collected body adiposity through electrical bioimpedance considering body fat percentage (BFP), CAM through heart rate variability (considering RMSSD, SDNN, PNN50, LF (m2), HF (m2), SD1 indexes and SD1/SD2 ratio) and PA through a questionnaire in 64 participants (58.0 ± 9.6 years), recruited through the local association of support for breast cancer and by direct indications from city mastologists. After insertion of PA into the multivariate statistical model, significant attenuation was observed in the relationship between body adiposity and CAM for the indices: SDNN (ß = -0.94; 95 percent CI: -1.93; 0.04; p = .060) and SD1/SD2 (ß = -0.01;95 percent CI = -0.02; 0.001; p = .065). In conclusion, it was observed that PA was able to mitigate the relationships between BFP and CAM (considering SDNN index and SD1/SD2 ratio) in breast cancer survivors.

High workload is related to lower quality of life in public school teachers: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: People with long work hours, as evidenced by teachers, were more likely to present health problems that impact their quality of life (QoL). The reduced physical activity (PA) level or higher sedentary behavior in public school teachers was related to obesity. Although PA seems to improve the QoL in other professions, assessing whether the PA level could influence the relationship between workload and QoL in public school teachers is necessary. OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether the high workload was related to worse QoL in teachers considered less active and more active. METHODS: Two hundred forty-three teachers from public schools participated in this study. The domains of QoL and PA levels were assessed by SF-36 and Baecke questionnaires, respectively. Workload perception was assessed by a Likert scale. Binary logistic regression analyzed the association between high workload and QoL domains in teachers considering the PA level in a model adjusted by confounding factors (i.e., sex, age, and socioeconomic condition). RESULTS: Heavy workload was associated with less chances of having better physical limitation domain of both less and more physically active teachers. Less active teachers with heavy workloads were 53%, 61%, and 56% less likely to have better vitality, social functioning, and mental health, respectively. No such associations were observed in the more physically active teachers. CONCLUSION: Less active teachers with a heavy workload demonstrate lower QoL. Although the PA practice eliminated this relationship, both active and less active teachers with a heavy workload demonstrated lower QoL in physical limitation domain.

Influence of Parkinson's Disease on Judging Stair Step Height: Exploratory Study.

This study investigated the effects of Parkinson's Disease (PD) on the perceptive judgment of stair step height using both exteroceptive visual and exproprioceptive judgments. We invited 14 individuals with PD and 14 neurologically healthy older adults (OA) to perform perceptual judgment tasks for first step stairway heights of 11 and 20 cm. Initially, participants performed first the exteroceptive visual judgment and then the exproprioceptive judgment in five randomized trials for each stair height. An analysis of variance for the exteroceptive visual judgment revealed no main effects or interaction between PD versus OA groups and height. However, the analysis of variance for exproprioceptive judgment revealed a significant interaction between group and height ( F1,26 = 9.519; p = .005; Pη2 = .268) such that both groups made more errors in exproprioceptive judgment at a height of 11 cm. The OA group made more errors in exproprioceptive judgment for the 20-cm step when compared with the PD group ( p = .016) but the PD group underestimated the step height. We conclude that PD influences exproprioceptive perception of step height and that steps with smaller (vs. larger) heights induce greater exproprioceptive error.

Gait bradykinesia and hypometria decrease as arm swing frequency and amplitude increase.

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) have decreased arm swing movements during walking, which can be related to PD motor signs and symptoms. In this context, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of an increased arm swing frequency or amplitude on the gait parameters in people with PD and healthy older adults. Seventeen individuals with PD and 19 older people were invited to walk on a 10 m pathway under three experimental conditions: (i) usual walking (no arm swing instructions); (ii) an increased arm swing amplitude; and (iii) an increased arm swing frequency. Both groups had an increased stride speed, vertical center of mass and arm swing accelerations and decreased double support time under the increased arm swing amplitude and frequency conditions. People with PD were able to modulate the gait parameters according to the experimental conditions, but at a smaller magnitude than the older individuals. These results indicate that bradykinesia and hypometria of gait can be positively overcome by increasing the amplitude and frequency of arm swing. Arm movements should be included in gait rehabilitation protocols for PD.

Effects of disease severity and medication state on postural control asymmetry during challenging postural tasks in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of disease severity and medication state on postural control asymmetry during challenging tasks in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Nineteen people with PD and 11 neurologically healthy individuals performed three standing task conditions: bipedal standing, tandem and unipedal adapted standing; the individuals with PD performed the tasks in ON and OFF medication state. The participants with PD were distributed into 2 groups according to disease severity: unilateral group (n=8) and bilateral group (n=11). The two PD groups performed the evaluations both under and without the medication. Two force plates were used to analyze the posture. The symmetric index was calculated for various of center of pressure. ANOVA one-way (groups) and two-way (PD groups×medication), with repeated measures for medication, were calculated. For main effects of group, the bilateral group was more asymmetric than CG. For main effects of medication, only unipedal adapted standing presented effects of PD medication. There was PD groups×medication interaction. Under the effects of medication, the unilateral group presented lower asymmetry of RMS in anterior-posterior direction and area than the bilateral group in unipedal adapted standing. In addition, the unilateral group presented lower asymmetry of mean velocity, RMS in anterior-posterior direction and area in unipedal standing and area in tandem adapted standing after a medication dose. Postural control asymmetry during challenging postural tasks was dependent on disease severity and medication state in people with PD. The bilateral group presented higher postural control asymmetry than the control and unilateral groups in challenging postural tasks. Finally, the medication dose was able to reduce postural control asymmetry in the unilateral group during challenging postural tasks.