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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2024) | Viewed by 16588

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kaushik Chattopadhyay

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Guest Editor

Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: non-communicable diseases; multimorbidity; lifestyle; clinical trials; epidemiology; health services research; mixed methods; complex interventions; yoga; ayurveda; traditional therapies; ethnic minorities; low- and middle-income countries

Dr. Haiquan Wang

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Co-Guest Editor

Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: physical activity; exercise; complex interventions; behavior change; children

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Physical inactivity has been recognized as an important risk factor for many non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression. To improve public health and combat NCDs, regular physical activity has been demonstrated to be beneficial and should be sustained across the lifespan. However, more research should be conducted on the quantity and quality aspects of physical activity that are needed to prevent and manage specific NCDs. Moreover, the assumption of a one-size-fits-all model is too restrictive, and need-sensitive evidence-based physical activity interventions are needed. The purpose of this Special Issue is to generate new knowledge, insights, and debates on this topic. All related studies, such as the development of interventions and guidelines, clinical trials, economic evaluations, epidemiological studies, qualitative studies, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses, are highly welcomed for submission.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to: systematic development of complex physical activity interventions or related guidelines to prevent or manage NCDs; randomized controlled trials (including pilot and feasibility studies) to determine the effectiveness and safety of physical activity interventions to prevent or manage NCDs, and similarly, economic evaluation of these interventions; descriptive or analytical epidemiological studies such as prevalence or risk factor studies; qualitative studies to explore barriers and facilitators to physical activity interventions among people with NCDs; related quantitative or qualitative systematic reviews (and meta-analyses).

Dr. Kaushik Chattopadhyay
Dr. Haiquan Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

physical activity
exercise
non-communicable diseases
primary, secondary or tertiary prevention
health promotion
epidemiology
trials
qualitative research
systematic reviews

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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12 pages, 1045 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Association between Air Pollution and Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Adults Aged 60 Years or Older in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

by Bing Zhan, Qiurui Wang, Zhixiong Zhou, Xiaotian Li, Hongjun Yu, Bingzhao Li and Mingxia Liao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2352; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032352 - 28 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2300

Abstract

Background: Exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in older adults. Promoting physical activity (PA) and avoiding sedentary behavior (SB) serve as key strategies to maintain and improve human health. However, ambient air pollution can adversely affect PA and SB, increasing the risks of health problems. This study aimed to visualize national spatial patterns of average AQI concentration, PA, and SB distributions and to examine the associations between air pollution and PA and SB in a national sample of Chinese older adults aged 60 years or older. Methods: We analyzed the data of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey 2020 (CLASS 2020), which sampled 11,399 older men and women from 30 cities in China. Moderate, vigorous, and light PA and SB were measured using the Chinese version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-C). The environmental measures included the average hourly air quality index (AQI), PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and NO₂ (µg/m³). The data were analyzed using multivariable linear regression. Results: Increases in the standard deviations (±SD) of AQI, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and NO₂ concentrations were associated with decreases in MVPA per week of −2.34 (95%CI = −3.36, −1.32), −2.58 (95%CI = −3.61, −1.55), −1.96 (95%CI = −3.05, −0.08), and −1.19 (95%CI = −2.06, −0.31) and decreases in LPA per week of −6.06 (95%CI = −7.15, −4.97), −4.86 (95%CI = −5.88, −3.85), −4.78 (95%CI = −5.89, −3.68), and −4.59 (95%CI = −5.57, −3.61) h/week, respectively. Increases in one SD of AQI, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and NO₂ were associated with increases in SB per week of 1.32 (95%CI = 0.77, 1.88), 0.62 (95%CI = 0.09, 1.14), 1.03 (95%CI = 0.48, 1.59), and 0.98 (95%CI = 0.46, 1.49) h/week, respectively. Conclusions: The spatial distributions of the average AQI concentration, MVPA, LPA, and SB are useful and allow environmental and health policymakers to identify the areas with the highest priority air pollution environmental equality concerns. AQI was positively associated with MVPA and LPA, and it was negatively associated with SB among older adults. AQI, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and NO₂ were hardly associated with women’s average time spent engaged in MVPA. Region-specific and multi-level health policy options are needed to reduce ambient air pollution by taking different types of pollutants into account in order to avoid changes in PA and SB in this population, especially in locations with high air pollution concentrations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

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12 pages, 2048 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Time of Day and Chronotype-Dependent Synchrony Effects Exercise-Induced Reduction in Migraine Load: A Pilot Cross-Over Randomized Trial

by Elias M. Malek, James W. Navalta and Graham R. McGinnis

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2083; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032083 - 23 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2213

Abstract

Migraines are the most common cause of chronic pain. Effective, non-pharmacological strategies to reduce migraine load, like exercise, are needed, but it is unclear how exercise timing and chronotype modulate the effects. We sought to determine the effects of time-of-day of exercise, and synchrony with one’s chronotype, on migraine load. We performed a pilot cross-over randomized trial where participants with chronic migraine completed two one-month exercise interventions, consisting of either morning exercise (before 09:00 a.m.) or evening exercise (after 7:00 p.m.) in a randomized repeated measures cross-over design (Clinical Trial #NCT04553445). Synchrony was determined by exercise time and chronotype (i.e., a morning type participant exercising in the morning is ‘in-sync,’ while an evening type participant exercising in the morning is ‘out-of-sync’). Migraine burden, and anthropometric assessment occurred before and after each month of exercise. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA with significance accepted at p < 0.05. When comparing morning and evening exercise, there was no significant improvements in any migraine-related parameters. However, when comparing in-sync and out-of-sync exercise, we found that migraine burden was only improved following in-sync exercise, while no benefits were seen in out-of-sync exercise. Our data suggests that exercise timing has limited impact, but synchrony with chronotype may be essential to decrease migraine load in chronic migraineurs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

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9 pages, 684 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Walking as Physical Exercise on Functional Limitation through Pain in Patients with Fibromyalgia—How Does Catastrophic Thinking Contribute?

by Patricia Catalá, Cecilia Peñacoba, Sofía López-Roig and María Angeles Pastor-Mira

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010190 - 23 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1877

Abstract

Background: Aerobic exercise has a beneficial impact on physical and mental health. However, patients with fibromyalgia do not always report perceiving these improvements. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether catastrophic thinking moderated the effects of perceived pain severity once an active and regular lifestyle had been established on functional limitation in chronic pain patients, in particular in fibromyalgia patients. Methods: The sample consisted of a total of 491 women with fibromyalgia diagnosed according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. Participants completed an ad-hoc item about lifestyle related to walking pattern, the Brief Pain Inventory, the Pain Catastrophization Scale, and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised. To examine the relationship between the variables, a moderate mediation analysis was performed through the macro PROCESS (model 14). Results: The relationship between the performance of the recommended walking pattern and functional limitation was mediated by the severity of pain (B = −5.19, SE = 1.59, t = −3.25, 95% CI = [−4.06, −0.28], p < 0.001). Furthermore, it was found that the mediating effect of pain severity was moderated by catastrophic thinking (Index = −0.014, SE = 0.007, 95% CI [0.002, 0.030]). Conclusions: The positive effect of walking on functionality through the reduction of pain levels is favored when patients present low catastrophizing, which affects the relevance of including interventions focused on the reduction of catastrophizing in the prescription of physical exercise in patients with fibromyalgia as the treatment of choice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

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9 pages, 349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting Adherence to Walking from Anxiety, Depression, Disease Impact, Catastrophizing, and Cognitive Fusion in Patients with Fibromyalgia: Does Pain Severity Matter?

by Patricia Catala, Carmen Écija, Angel Serrano del Moral, Estibalitz Perez Viejo and Cecilia Peñacoba

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16453; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416453 - 8 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1768

Abstract

Aim: This study analyzed whether the contribution of several factors associated with walking adherence in fibromyalgia (FM) patients varies across pain severity levels. Methods: Participants were 228 women with FM (mean age 57 years; SD = 8.49). Results: Bivariate analyses replicated the expected association between predictors (FM impact, anxiety, depression, catastrophizing, and cognitive fusion) and poorer adherence to walking. Multivariate analyses showed a negative contribution of FM impact, catastrophizing, and depression on walking adherence after controlling for pain levels (all p < 0.01). A moderation effect of pain severity in the relationship between predictors and adherence to walking was only found for cognitive fusion (B = −0.01, t = −2.02, p = 0.040). Specifically, cognitive fusion only contributed to poor walking adherence at moderate and severe pain levels, but not when pain was mild. The contribution of the remaining predictors was not moderated by pain levels, which means that they contributed to walking adherence irrespective of the pain severity of the patient. Pain severity did not contribute to walking adherence when controlling for the predictors. Conclusion: Clinical implications are discussed from the perspective of personalized interventions and preferable target interventions when attempting to increase adherence to walking in this population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

16 pages, 1357 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediating Role of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours on the Association between Perceived Stress and Self-Rated Health in People with Non-Communicable Disease

by Lena Nordgren, Petra von Heideken Wågert, Anne Söderlund and Maria Elvén

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12071; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912071 - 23 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2529

Abstract

Perceived stress can affect people’s lifestyle behaviours and self-rated health. A balanced, healthy lifestyle can alleviate experiences of stress. For clinicians to use evidence-based and theory-based knowledge in health dialogues with people with non-communicable diseases, and in order to develop more effective behavioural counselling, more knowledge is needed. Hence, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of sedentary behaviour, daily physical activity, physical exercise, and dietary habits on the association between perceived stress and self-rated health in people with or without one to four self-reported non-communicable diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, diabetes). The study used a cross-sectional design. Responses from in total 10,583 individuals were collected in 2016 and 2019 by a self-report questionnaire. A series of simple and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the mediating effects of healthy lifestyle behaviours on the association between perceived stress and self-rated health. The results show that the investigated healthy lifestyle behaviours partly mediated the association between perceived stress and self-rated health in people with no diagnosis, and in people with one or two diagnoses. It can be concluded that healthy lifestyle behaviours could probably be targeted in relation to the number of noncommunicable diseases that the individuals have. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

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11 pages, 348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Muscular Fitness, and Flexibility Are Associated with Body Fat Distribution and Obesity Risk Using Bioelectrical Impedance in Taiwanese Adults

by Hsiu-Hsi Chiang, Po-Fu Lee, Yun-Tsung Chen, Chi-Fang Lin, Shu Xu, Yi-Tien Lin, Yu-Ting Lin, Yan-Jhu Su, Ben-Chang Shia, Wen-Sheng ChangChien and Chien-Chang Ho

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8858; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148858 - 21 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2310

Abstract

In terms of public health, obesity and overweight have become major concerns worldwide. Nevertheless, regarding body composition, it is important to have a more precise understanding of the fat-to-muscle ratio. Hence, this study aimed to adopt bioelectrical impedance measurements to test body fat percentage (BF%) and to determine the associations between health-related physical fitness and both body fat (BF) distribution and BF obesity risk in Taiwanese adults. We conducted a cross-sectional study and reviewed data derived from Taiwan’s Scientific Physical Fitness Survey. From the database, responses from 17,970 participants aged 23–64 years were collected in this study. Each participant completed a series of health-related physical fitness measurements, including cardiorespiratory fitness (3 min of a progressive knee-up and step (3MPKS) test), muscular fitness (hand-grip strength), and flexibility (sit-and-reach test). The BF% of each participant was assessed using the bioelectrical impedance analysis method. BF% was negatively associated with low performance on the 3MPKS (β = 11.314, p < 0.0001 for men; β = 12.308, p < 0.0001 for women), hand-grip strength (β = 2.071, p < 0.0001 for men; β = 0.859, p < 0.0001 for women), and sit-and-reach (β = 0.337, p = 0.008 for women) tests but was positively associated with sit-and-reach (β = −0.394, p = 0.004 for men). A risk of BF obesity for low performance of 3MPKS (odds ratio (OR) = 26.554, p < 0.0001 for men; OR = 25.808, p < 0.0001 for women), hand-grip strength (OR = 1.682, p < 0.0001 for men; OR = 1.234, p < 0.0001 for women), and sit-and-reach (OR = 1.142, p = 0.007 for women) tests was observed. These results suggest that low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, and flexibility are associated with an increased risk of BF obesity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

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16 pages, 360 KiB

Open AccessProtocol

Content, Structure and Delivery Characteristics of Yoga Interventions for the Management of Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review Protocol

by Isha Biswas, Sarah Lewis and Kaushik Chattopadhyay

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 5806; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105806 - 10 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2308

Abstract

The global burden of osteoarthritis among adults is rising. Yoga might be a potential solution for the management of osteoarthritis. This systematic review aims to synthesise the content, structure and delivery characteristics of effective yoga interventions for the management of osteoarthritis. The JBI methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines will be followed. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of yoga interventions for the management of osteoarthritis in adults will be included in this review. We aim to search the following databases to find published and unpublished studies: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, SPORTDiscus, AMED, Web of Science, CENTRAL, TRIP, AYUSH Research Portal, ABIM, CAM-QUEST, PeDro, OpenGrey, EthOS, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and DART-Europe-e-theses portal. No date or language restrictions will be applied. A narrative synthesis will be conducted with the help of tables. A meta-regression will be conducted to explore the statistical evidence for which the components (content, structure and delivery characteristics) of yoga interventions are effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Non-communicable Diseases)

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