Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of physical activity to counteract the workers' oxidative stress. A pilot study.

Objective: Office workers spend typically more than two-thirds of their working time sitting and this negative behaviour could have been increased during the pandemic. Low levels of Physical Activity (PA) can have detrimental effects on health, well-being, and Quality of Life (QoL), as well as on the oxidative stress burden. Our aim was to evaluate the role of moderate PA remotely administered in modulating the bio-molecular profile and the QoL of a group of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The 26 subjects recruited were sampled at the beginning of the study (T0), after 3 months of remotely administered training (T1), and 3 months after the suspension of the online workouts (T2). Each of the three times, subjects filled out a questionnaire and provided a spot urine sample for the quantification of oxidative stress (15-F2t-Isoprostane, Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS), and Total Antioxidant Power (TAP)) and inflammatory biomarkers (Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10). Results: The PA administration resulted in a significant decrease in 15-F2t-Isoprostane (p = 0.02) and TAP (p = 0.019). A significant increase in TAP was observed between T1 and T2 (p = 0.044). Conclusion: A PA-based health promotion strategy could be a valuable intervention in the working environment to promote the well-being of an ageing workforce, especially for white collars.

The Effect of Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intake on Oxidative Stress Levels in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review.

During pregnancy, reactive oxygen species (ROS) may physiologically increase due to changes and growth of mother and fetal tissues. Consequently, oxidative stress (OS) may occur and be involved in the onset of pregnancy and newborn complications. Among exogenous antioxidant sources, diet is a cost-effective prevention strategy supporting the health of mothers and newborns; however, there is still a lack of nutritional education during pregnancy interviews. This review aims to systematically summarize the knowledge on the association between OS and diet during pregnancy. Four electronic databases (PubMed Central, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Food Science and Technology Abstracts) were searched on 22 December 2022. Among 4162 records, 13 original articles were finally included. Overall, 80% of the studies considered dietary patterns as exposure and 60% of them assessed the association with malondialdehyde levels in blood and urine. Three studies analyzed the influence of daily intakes of fruit and vegetables on different OS biomarkers (malondialdehyde, nitric oxide and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine). Among studies exploring dietary fat intakes (39%), 80% focused on polyunsaturated fatty acids, finding a positive association with glutathione peroxidase, biopirryn and isoprostane levels, respectively. Four studies analyzed vitamin intakes and 50% of them in association with 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine.