Secular trends in muscular fitness among Finnish adolescents.

AIM: To investigate secular change over time in health-related muscular fitness and how leisure time physical activity (LTPA), sport club participation, and body mass index are associated with muscular fitness in adolescents. METHODS: Two cross-sectional samples of Finnish 13-16-year-old adolescents were studied in 1976 (n = 643; 312 boys and 331 girls) and in 2001 (n = 579; 308 boys and 271 girls). Muscular fitness index was calculated as the sum of age- and sex-specific z-scores of four tests measuring muscular fitness and agility. Height and weight were also measured. Self-reported weekly frequency of LTPA of at least 30-min duration and regularity of participation in organised sport were obtained by questionnaire. Identical methods were used in 1976 and 2001. RESULTS: Muscular fitness index was higher in 2001 than in 1976 in both boys (by 0.77 points, p = 0.008, effect size d = 0.17, small difference) and girls (1.01 points, p = 0.004, d = 0.20, small difference). Sport club participation, body mass index, and participation in LTPA together explained more of the muscular fitness index variance in 2001 than in 1976 in both boys (coefficient of determination from 0.10 to 0.24) and girls (from 0.25 to 0.40). CONCLUSIONS: The muscular fitness of 13-16-year old adolescents slightly improved over time. Organised LTPA showed a stronger association with muscular fitness in 2001 than in 1976. Due to increased polarisation in fitness, in health promotion more attention should be paid on adolescents' health-related fitness and its association to LTPA.

Nasal airway volumetric measurement using segmented HRCT images and acoustic rhinometry.

Semiautomatic segmentation methods using High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging give accurate and reproducible volumetric measurements in various intracranial diseases. In this prospective study, for the first time in literature, with the help of a new semiautomatic segmentation technique and coronal HRCT, we correlated the volumes and cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity with those obtained by clinical acoustic rhinometry in 14 patients with chronic sinusitis. The measurements obtained by both techniques showed statistically significant correlations between volumes in the anterior and middle parts, but statistically poor correlations between the volumes in the posterior part of the nasal cavity. Coronal HRCT and our new microcomputer applicable semiautomatic segmentation software proved compatible with daily clinical practice. Based on the promising results of our study, we recommend the use of this technique in the validation studies of acoustic rhinometry and in complicated cases as a complementary examination in the evaluation of nasal cavity.

Axial HRCT, two-dimensional and maximum intensity projection reconstructions in temporal bone lesions.

Axial and coronal high resolution computer tomography (HRCT) of the temporal bone is an important imaging technique to evaluate hearing loss. However the acquisition of the coronal imaging proves uncomfortable to the patient and is not always technically possible in old and ill patients. Clinical diagnoses of chronic otitis media, mastoiditis, cholesteatoma and cochlear otosclerosis in 10 patients were studied on a third generation CT scanner. Axial 1 mm HRCT slices were acquired and the images were transferred to an Advantage Windows workstation where two-dimensional (2D) multiplanar and sagittal maximum intensity projection (MIP) reformations were performed. Our aim was to study the ability of this technique to identify several small structures of the temporal bone in various diseases. In all cases the finer structures of the temporal bone were identified in axial HRCT images. The tegmen tympani, atticus and the cochlea were best seen in the 2D coronal reconstructions. The aditus ad antrum, facial canal, vestibule and the semicircular canals were best seen on 2D sagittal reconstructions. The joints between the bony ossicles of the middle ear was best seen in the sagittal MIP reconstructions. Our results suggest that axial HRCT, 2D multiplanar and MIP reconstructions of the temporal bone produce images with sufficient diagnostic quality in patients with hearing loss.