Associations between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with vascular health phenotypes in older adults: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: We investigated the associations between physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with vascular health phenotypes in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 82 participants (66.8 ± 5.2 years; 81% females). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed using accelerometers, and CRF was measured using the distance covered in the 6-min walk test (6MWT). The vascular health markers were as follows: i) arterial function measured as aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) estimated using an automatic blood pressure device; and ii) arterial structure measured as the common carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Using a combination of normal cIMT and aPWV values, four groups of vascular health phenotypes were created: normal aPWV and cIMT, abnormal aPWV only, abnormal cIMT only, and abnormal aPWV and cIMT. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the beta coefficients (ß) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) adjusting for BMI, and medication for diabetes, lipid, and hypertension, sex, age, and blood pressure. Results: Participants with abnormal aPWV and normal cIMT (ß = -53.76; 95% CI = -97.73--9.78 m; p = 0.017), and participants with both abnormal aPWV and cIMT (ß = -71.89; 95% CI = -125.46--18.31 m; p = 0.009) covered less distance in the 6MWT, although adjusting for age, sex and blood pressure decreased the strength of the association with only groups of abnormal aPWV and cIMT covering a lower 6MWT distance compared to participants with both normal aPWV and cIMT (ß = -55.68 95% CI = -111.95-0.59; p = 0.052). No associations were observed between MVPA and the vascular health phenotypes. Conslusion: In summary, poor CRF, but not MVPA, is associated with the unhealthiest vascular health phenotype (abnormal aPWV/cIMT) in older adults.

Independent and joint associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and lower-limb muscle strength with cardiometabolic risk in older adults.

The aim of this study was to investigate the independent and joint associations of low cardiorespiratory fitness and lower-limb muscle strength with cardiometabolic risk in older adults. A total of 360 community-dwelling older adults aged 60-80 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Cardiometabolic risk was based on the diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome and poor Ideal Cardiovascular Health according to the American Heart Association guidelines. Cardiorespiratory fitness and lower-limb muscle strength were estimated using the six-minute walk and the 30-second chair stand tests, respectively. Participants in the 20th percentile were defined as having low cardiorespiratory fitness and lower-limb muscle strength. Poisson's regression was used to determine the prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of Metabolic Syndrome and poor Ideal Cardiovascular Health. Participants with low cardiorespiratory fitness alone and combined with low lower-limb muscle strength were similarly associated with a higher risk for Metabolic Syndrome (PR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09-1.48, and PR 1.32, 95% CI 1.10-1.58, respectively), and poor Ideal Cardiovascular Health (PR 1.76, 95% CI 1.25-2.47, and PR 1.65, 95% CI 1.19-2.28, respectively). Low lower-limb muscle strength alone was not associated with a higher risk for either Metabolic Syndrome or poor Ideal Cardiovascular Health (PR 1.23, 95% CI 0.81-1.87, and PR 1.11, 95% CI 0.89-1.37, respectively). Low cardiorespiratory fitness alone or combined with low lower-limb muscle strength, but not low lower-limb muscle strength alone, was associated with a higher cardiometabolic risk in older adults. The assessment of physical fitness may be a "window of opportunity" to identify youngest-old adults with a high cardiovascular disease risk.

Dataset on infant mortality rates in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: Surveillance of infant and fetal deaths is of paramount importance in thinking about government strategies to reduce these rates, provide greater visibility of these mortality figures in the country, enable the adoption of prevention measures, as well as contribute to a better record of deaths. DATA DESCRIPTION: The dataset comprises fetal, neonatal, early neonatal, late neonatal, and perinatal Mortality Rates of Brazilian municipalities with their respective information, between 2010 to 2020, aggregated by epidemiological week.

A comprehensive integrated dataset on Brazilian health facilities: from 2005 to 2021.

OBJECTIVES: The National Registry of Healthcare Facilities is a system with the registry of every healthcare facility in Brazil with information on the capacity building and healthcare workforce regarding its public or private nature. Despite being publicly available, it can only be accessed in separated disjoint tables, with different primary units of analysis. The objective is to offer an interoperable dataset containing monthly data from 2005 to 2021 with information on healthcare facilities, including their physical and human resources, services and teams, enriched with municipal information. DATA DESCRIPTION: Database with historical data and geographic information for each health facility in Brazil. It is composed by 5 distinct tables, organized according to combinations of time, space, and types of resources, services and teams. This database opens up a range of possibilities for research topics, from case studies in a single health facility and period, analysis of a group of health facilities with characteristics of interest, to a broader study using the entire dataset and aggregated data by municipality. Furthermore, the fact that there is a row for each health facility/month/year facilitates the integration with other datasets from the Brazilian healthcare system. In addition to being a potential object of study in the health area, the dataset is also convenient in data science, especially for studies focused on time series.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Performance in Multiple Domains of Executive Functions in School-Aged Adolescents.

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and performance in multiple domains of executive functions in school-aged adolescents. A sample of 132 adolescents (43% girls) aged 11-16 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Each participant completed a progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance running (PACER) test, computerized cognitive tasks (Attentional Network, Berg's Card Sorting, Go/No-Go oddball, Sternberg's Working Memory, and Tower of London) and questionnaire for daytime sleepiness, as well as other factors that might influence cognitive performance (age, sex, school year, pubertal stage, and body mass index - BMI). Generalized linear model was used to calculate the coefficient estimates (ß) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) for the cognitive tasks using PACER laps as a predictor, controlling for potential confounding variables. There was a negatively association of PACER laps with planning (ß = -17.1, 95% CI -31.9, -2.3) and solution (ß = -44.6, 95% CI -75.1, -14.2) time in performing the Tower of London task, as well as with perseverative errors in performing Berg's task (ß = -0.073, 95% CI -0.133, -0.013). Moderating effect of sex was found for the association of PACER laps with completed categories and perseverative errors in Berg's task (p < 0.05). Mediating effect of BMI was found for the association between PACER laps and NoGo task, revealing a full mediator accounted for 81% of the total effect mediated (standardized indirect effect, -0.069, 95% CI -0.140, -0.020; standardized direct effect, 0.011, 95% CI -0.149, 0.165). No association was found for Attentional or Sternberg's tasks. The findings suggest that school-aged adolescents with higher CRF level showed better planning and problem-solving abilities and cognitive flexibility. Additionally, the positive association of CRF with cognitive flexibility was sex-moderated and with inhibitory control was BMI-mediated.

Independent and combined associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength with metabolic syndrome in older adults: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and low muscle strength are independently associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in older adults. This study investigated the isolated and combined associations of low CRF and muscle strength with MetS in older adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 184 older adults (71% women; aged 65.6 ±â€¯4.3 years) without a prior history of cardiovascular disease. CRF and muscle strength were assessed by the six-minute walking test and 30-s chair stand test, respectively. Results below the 25th percentile of the cohort were used to define low CRF and low muscle strength. MetS was defined according to NCEP-ATP III criteria. Poisson's regression with robust variance was used to determine the prevalence ratio (PR) for MetS. Reference group was composed by older adults with both CRF and muscle strength above 25th percentile. RESULTS: Prevalence of low CRF, low muscle strength, and combined low CRF and muscle strength was 22.8%, 17.9%, and 10.9%, respectively. The prevalence of MetS was 56.5% in the full cohort. Isolated low CRF (PR 1.05, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.52; p = 0.793) and muscle strength (PR 1.09, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.61; p = 0.651) were not associated with MetS in the adjusted analysis. Combined low CRF and muscle strength was associated with MetS (PR 1.45, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.93; p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with combined, but not isolated, low CRF and muscle strength showed an increased risk for MetS.

Efeito do tempo sentado prolongado sobre marcadores cardiometabólicos em adultos fisicamente ativos e inativos: um estudo piloto / Effect of prolonged sitting time on cardiometabolic markers in physically active and inactive adults: a pilot study

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o efeito do tempo sentado prolongado sobre marcadores cardio-metabólicos em adultos fisicamente ativos e inativos. Participaram do estudo 10 adultos fisicamente ativos (27,30 ± 4,90 anos de idade) e 11 fisicamente inativos (26,27 ± 3,17 anos de idade). Todos realizaram uma sessão de tempo sentado prolongado de 10 horas, com quatro refeições padroniza-das. Os níveis de glicose e pressão arterial foram mensurados no jejum, antes e 1 hora após cada refeição e também 2 horas após o almoço. Os níveis de triglicerídeos foram medidos no jejum, 2 e 3,5 horas após o almoço. O modelo linear generalizado foi utilizado para comparar a área sob a curva incremental (ASCi) dos níveis de glicose e triglicerídeos e a área sob a curva (ASC) dos níveis de pressão arterial entre os grupos, com ajuste pelos valores de linha de base. O grupo fisicamente ativo apresentou menor ASCi para os níveis de glicose no período de 10 horas (ß = -5,55 mg/dL/10h; IC95%: -9,75; -1,33; p = 0,010) e no período da manhã (ß = -7,05 mg/dL/5h; IC95%: -12,11; -1,99; p = 0,006) comparado ao grupo fisicamente inativo. Não houve diferença da ASCi dos triglicerídeos (p = 0,517) e na ASC da pressão arterial (p = 0,145) entre os grupos. Em conclusão, adultos fisicamente ativos apresentaram melhor controle glicêmico comparados àqueles fisicamente inativos durante a exposição a tempo sentado prolongado

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of prolonged sitting time on cardiometabolic markers in physically active and inactive adults.Ten physically active adults (27.30 ± 4.90 years old) and 11 physically inactive (26.27 ± 3.17 years old) participated in the study. All performed a 10-hour long sitting session, with a total of four standardized meals. Glucose and blood pressure levels were measured at fasting, before and 1 hour after each meal, and 2 hours after lunch. Triglycerides levels were measured on fasting at 2 and 3.5 hours after lunch. The generalized linear model was used to compare the area under the incremental curve (AUCi) of the glucose and triglycerides lev-els, and the area under the curve (AUC) of the blood pressure levels between the groups, adjusted for baseline values. The physically active group showed lower blood glucose AUCi of 10 hours (ß = -5.55 mg/dL/10h; 95%CI: -9.75; -1.33, p = 0.010), and morning (ß = -7.05 mg/dL/5h; 95%CI: -12.11; -1.99, p = 0.006) compared to the physically inactive group. There was no difference in triglycerides AUCi (p = 0.517) and blood pressure AUC (p = 0.145) between groups. In conclusion, physically active adults have better glycemic control than physically inactive adults during exposure to prolonged sitting time