Biomedical subjects

Charles E Matthews

Publications and source records attributed to Charles E Matthews.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Effects of obesity and height on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and percentage of free PSA levels among African-American and Caucasian men.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies suggest that obese men have lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels than leaner men. Caucasian (CA) men also may have lower PSA levels than African-American (AA) men, but the relevance of body size to racial disparities in PSA levels is unclear. The association between body mass index (BMI) and height on PSA and percentage of free PSA (%fPSA) was investigated within AA and CA men without a prior prostate cancer diagnosis. METHODS: AA (n = 150) and CA (n = 149) men of similar socioeconomic status completed an extensive in-person interview and donated blood. PSA and %fPSA levels were compared across race, BMI, and height categories after adjusting for age and other factors. RESULTS: PSA levels decreased with increasing BMI (PSA = .72, .69, .67, .59 ng/mL for BMI 18.5 to <25, 25 to <30, 30 to <35, and > or =35, respectively; P(trend) = .18), and trends were significant among men less than age 60 years (PSA = .81, .76, .66, .59, respectively; P(trend) = .02). fPSA also significantly decreased with BMI among men <60 years (P(trend) = .04). In contrast, %fPSA was not associated with BMI. However, %fPSA increased 27% across height categories (P(trend) = .02). PSA levels were significantly lower among CA men (PSA(AA) = 0.87, PSA(CA) = 0.63 ng/mL; P < .01), whereas %fPSA levels did not differ by race. Also, associations between body size and PSA or %fPSA did not significantly differ by race, and adjustment for BMI and height had no effect on the racial disparity in PSA (PSA(AA) = 0.87, PSA(CA) = 0.63 ng/mL; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that race, BMI, and height are independently associated with PSA and %fPSA levels.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation of a 12-week home-based walking intervention for breast cancer survivors.

GOALS OF WORK: To evaluate a 12-week home-based walking intervention among breast cancer survivors and to quantify changes in physical activity (PA) behaviors, body weight, and body composition in response to the intervention. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Breast cancer survivors that were in the posttreatment period were randomized to intervention (n=23) or wait-list usual care (n=13). PA was assessed by self-report, and in a study subsample (n=23), by an accelerometer. Intention to treat principles were employed to estimate the intervention effect on PA behaviors, body weight, and body composition. Intervention adherence was calculated as the proportion of exercise sessions completed relative to the number of exercise sessions recommended, as reported each week on walking logs. MAIN RESULTS: Thirty-four of 36 women randomized (94%) completed the study. Average intervention adherence over 12 weeks was 94%. Intervention participants reported a significantly greater increase in walking for exercise [+11.9 metabolic equivalent (MET)-h/week] over time than did usual care participants (+1.7 MET-h/week, p=0.01). Objective measures of activity also indicated that intervention participants increased their activity levels over time as compared to usual care participants [i.e., counts/min/day and steps/day (p< or =0.04)]. No significant changes in body weight or composition were observed. CONCLUSION: We found that a 12-week home-based walking intervention was safe and effective for increasing short-term PA levels in breast cancer survivors. Future studies are needed to assess the ability of brief interventions to facilitate the maintenance of increased activity levels and to produce favorable quality of life and risk factor outcomes.

Body Composition↗

PubMed2006

Physical activity and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the Shanghai women's health study.

BACKGROUND: Leisure-time physical activity (LPA) has been associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the potential effect of other types of physical activity on type 2 diabetes is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of occupational, commuting, daily living, and LPA on the incidence of type 2 diabetes in a cohort of middle-aged women. METHODS: We prospectively followed 70,658 women who had no prior history of diabetes at study recruitment for 4.6 years. Participants completed in-person interviews at baseline that collected information on diabetes risk factors including physical activity habits. Anthropometric measurements were taken by trained interviewers. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios were estimated by levels of occupational, commuting, daily living, and LPA. RESULTS: We documented 1973 incident cases of diabetes during 326,625 person-years of follow-up. LPA and daily living physical activity (DPA) were associated with a moderately reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. The relative risk for type 2 diabetes associated with LPA and DPA categories were 1.00, 0.89, 1.05, and 0.83, (P trend = 0.12) and 1.00, 0.98, 0.95, and 0.88, (P trend = 0.06) respectively. LPA was associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes in employed participants (P trend = 0.09) while DPA was mainly associated with a reduction in risk in non-employed participants (P trend <0.01). While occupational physical activity was not associated with type 2 diabetes risk in this population, commuting to work was associated with a reduction in risk. A combination of DPA and LPA was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that physical activity, either from leisure-time exercise or daily activity reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, supporting the current health promotion efforts encouraging both exercise and non-exercise activity levels.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

Reliability and validity of the Past Year Total Physical Activity Questionnaire.

The authors determined the validity and reliability of their Past Year Total Physical Activity Questionnaire (PYTPAQ), which assesses the frequency, duration, and intensity of occupational, household, and recreational activities performed over the past year. The PYTPAQ was completed twice at baseline, 9 weeks apart (on average), by 154 healthy Canadian men and women aged 35-65 years for assessment of reliability. The PYTPAQ was completed again 1 year later as a self-administered questionnaire. Four times during the year, participants wore an accelerometer for 7 days and completed 7-day physical activity logs. The authors assessed validity by comparing PYTPAQ summary values with 1-year averages of the physical activity logs and accelerometer data and with physical fitness and anthropometric data measured at baseline and 1 year. Spearman correlations for reliability (metabolic equivalent-hours/week) were 0.64 for total activity, 0.70 for occupational activity, 0.73 for recreational activity, and 0.65 for household activity. For total activity, the intraclass correlation coefficient for correlation between the PYTPAQ and the 7-day physical activity logs was 0.42 (95% confidence interval: 0.28, 0.54), and for the accelerometer data it was 0.18 (95% confidence interval: 0.03, 0.32). Spearman correlations between PYTPAQ hours/week of vigorous activity and maximal oxygen uptake were 0.37 and 0.32 at baseline and follow-up, respectively. In general, the PYTPAQ has acceptable reliability and validity for measurement of past-year physical activity that is comparable to that of similar questionnaires.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Association of physical activity with hormone receptor status: the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study.

Evidence exists that breast tumors differing by estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status may be phenotypically distinct diseases resulting from dissimilar etiologic processes. Few studies have attempted to examine the association of physical activity with breast cancer subtype. Such research may prove instructive into the biological mechanisms of activity. Consequently, this investigation was designed to assess the relationship between physical activity and hormone receptor-defined breast cancers in a population of Asian women in which the distribution of receptor types differed from traditional Western populations. Participants, ages 25 to 64 years, were recruited into this population-based, case-control study of breast cancer conducted in Shanghai, China from August 1996 to March 1998. Histologically confirmed breast cancer cases with available receptor status information (n = 1001) and age frequency-matched controls (n = 1,556) completed in-person interviews. Polytomous logistic regression was used to model the association between measures of activity with each breast cancer subtype (ER+/PR+, ER-/PR-, ER+/PR-, and ER-/PR+) using the control population as the reference group. Exercise in both adolescence and the last 10 years was associated with a decreased risk of both receptor-positive (ER+/PR+) and receptor-negative (ER-/PR-) breast cancers in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women (odds ratios, 0.44 and 0.51 and 0.43 and 0.21, respectively). Sweating during exercise within the last 10 years was also associated with decreased risk for receptor-positive and receptor-negative breast cancers among postmenopausal women (odds ratios, 0.58 and 0.28, respectively). These findings suggest that physical activity may reduce breast cancer risk through both hormonal and nonhormonal pathways.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Effect of adiposity and fat distribution on endometrial cancer risk in Shanghai women.

The authors conducted a population-based case-control study of 832 endometrial cancer cases and 846 frequency-matched controls in Shanghai, China (1997-2001), to examine the association of overall adiposity and body fat distribution with disease risk. Overall adiposity was estimated using weight and body mass index (BMI); upper body fat distribution was evaluated using waist circumference and waist:hip ratio. Overall and upper-body obesity were both associated with an elevated risk of endometrial cancer. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for highest-versus-lowest quartile comparisons were 2.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.0, 3.5) for weight, 2.9 (95% CI: 2.2, 3.9) for BMI, 4.7 (95% CI: 3.4, 6.4) for waist circumference, and 3.5 (95% CI: 2.6, 4.8) for waist:hip ratio. The positive associations with weight and BMI vanished after results were controlled for waist circumference, while associations with waist circumference and waist:hip ratio persisted after adjustment for BMI. The positive association with upper-body obesity was more pronounced among younger women, women who had never used oral contraceptives, and women with a history of diabetes mellitus (p for multiplicative interaction < 0.05). Upper-body obesity was related to increased risk among women with low BMI. These results suggest that obesity, particularly upper-body fat deposition, is associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2005

The effect of social desirability and social approval on self-reports of physical activity.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine social desirability and social approval as sources of error in three self-reported physical activity assessments using objective measures of physical activity as reference measures. In 1997, women (n = 81) living in Worcester, Massachusetts, completed doubly labeled water measurements and wore an activity monitor for 14 days. They also completed seven interviewer-administered 24-hour physical activity recalls (PARs) and two different self-administered 7-day PARs. Measures of the personality traits "social desirability" and "social approval" were regressed on 1) the difference between physical activity energy expenditure estimated from doubly labeled water and each physical activity assessment instrument and 2) the difference between monitor-derived physical activity duration and each instrument. Social desirability was associated with overreporting of activity, resulting in overestimation of physical activity energy expenditure by 0.65 kcal/kg/day on the second 7-day PAR (95% confidence interval: 0.06, 1.25) and overestimation of activity durations by 4.15-11.30 minutes/day (both 7-day PARs). Social approval was weakly associated with underestimation of physical activity on the 24-hour PAR (-0.15 kcal/kg/day, 95% confidence interval: -0.30, 0.005). Body size was not associated with reporting bias in this study. The authors conclude that social desirability and social approval may influence self-reported physical activity on some survey instruments.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Urban, rural, and regional variations in physical activity.

PURPOSE: There is some speculation about geographic differences in physical activity (PA) levels. We examined the prevalence of physical inactivity (PIA) and whether U.S. citizens met the recommended levels of PA across the United States. In addition, the association between PIA/PA and degree of urbanization in the 4 main U.S. regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) was determined. METHODS: Participants were 178,161 respondents to the 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Data from 49 states and the District of Columbia were included (excluding Alaska). States were categorized by urban status according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Physical activity variables were those commonly used in national surveillance systems (PIA = no leisure-time PA; and PA = meeting a PA recommendation). RESULTS: Nationally, PA levels were higher in urban areas than in rural areas; correspondingly, PIA levels were higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Regionally, the urban-rural differences were most striking in the South and were, in fact, often absent in other regions. Demographic factors appeared to modify the association. CONCLUSION: The association between PA and degree of urbanization is evident and robust in the South but cannot be generalized to all regions of the United States. For the most part, the Midwest and the Northeast do not experience any relationship between PA and urbanization, whereas, in the West, the trend appears to be opposite of that observed in the South.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

Physical activity and risk of endometrial cancer: a report from the Shanghai endometrial cancer study.

We evaluated the type and amount of physical activity associated with risk of endometrial cancer. In this population-based case-control study, in-person interviews were completed among 832 incident endometrial cancer cases and 846 age-matched controls. Physical activity from exercise, household activities, and transportation was assessed in adolescence and adulthood, as was lifetime occupational activity. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence limits (95% CL). Women reporting exercise participation in both adolescence and adulthood were at nearly a 40% reduced risk (OR, 0.63; 95% CL, 0.42-0.95), compared with women reporting no exercise in either life period. Postmenopausal women who initiated exercise in adulthood were also at reduced risk (OR, 0.76; 95% CL, 0.56-1.02). Reductions in risk were also observed for common lifestyle activities, including household activity (both life periods) and walking for transportation (adulthood). Examination of the independent and combined effect of exercise and lifestyle activities revealed that women with less active lifestyles but who reported exercise were at 35% reduced risk (OR, 0.65; 95% CL, 0.41-1.02), whereas nonexercisers with more active lifestyles were at 40% to 45% reduced risk. These findings suggest that both lifestyle activities of lower intensity (e.g., walking and doing household chores) and intentional exercise can reduce endometrial cancer risk.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Energy balance and breast cancer risk.

We evaluated the hypothesis that a pattern of behavioral exposures indicating positive energy balance [i.e., less exercise/sport activity, high body mass index (BMI), or high energy intake] would be associated with an increased breast cancer risk in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, a population-based study of 1,459 incident breast cancer cases and 1,556 age frequency-matched controls. Participants completed in-person interviews that collected information on breast cancer risk factors, usual dietary intake and physical activity in adulthood. Anthropometric indices were measured. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by logistic regression to describe the individual and joint effects of the exposures on breast cancer risk. Lack of exercise/sport activity, low occupational activity, and high BMI were all individually associated with increased risk of breast cancer [odds ratios (OR) ranged from 1.49 to 1.86]. In general, women with lower exercise/sport activity level and higher BMI, or those with higher energy intake, were at an increased risk compared with women who reported more exercise/sport activities, had lower BMIs, or reported less energy intake. There was a significant multiplicative interaction (P = 0.02) between adult exercise/sport activity and BMI, with inactive women in the upper BMI quartile being at increased risk (OR, 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-3.74) compared with their active and lean counterparts. This association was stronger in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women, and non-exercising postmenopausal women with higher BMIs were at substantially increased risk (OR, 4.74; 95% confidence interval, 2.05-12.20). Our study suggests that promotion of behavior patterns that optimize energy balance (weight control and increasing physical activity) may be a viable option for breast cancer prevention.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Accelerometer data reduction: a comparison of four reduction algorithms on select outcome variables.

PURPOSE: Accelerometers are recognized as a valid and objective tool to assess free-living physical activity. Despite the widespread use of accelerometers, there is no standardized way to process and summarize data from them, which limits our ability to compare results across studies. This paper a) reviews decision rules researchers have used in the past, b) compares the impact of using different decision rules on a common data set, and c) identifies issues to consider for accelerometer data reduction. METHODS: The methods sections of studies published in 2003 and 2004 were reviewed to determine what decision rules previous researchers have used to identify wearing period, minimal wear requirement for a valid day, spurious data, number of days used to calculate the outcome variables, and extract bouts of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). For this study, four data reduction algorithms that employ different decision rules were used to analyze the same data set. RESULTS: The review showed that among studies that reported their decision rules, much variability was observed. Overall, the analyses suggested that using different algorithms impacted several important outcome variables. The most stringent algorithm yielded significantly lower wearing time, the lowest activity counts per minute and counts per day, and fewer minutes of MVPA per day. An exploratory sensitivity analysis revealed that the most stringent inclusion criterion had an impact on sample size and wearing time, which in turn affected many outcome variables. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the decision rules employed to process accelerometer data have a significant impact on important outcome variables. Until guidelines are developed, it will remain difficult to compare findings across studies.

Acceleration↗

PubMed2005

Development and testing of a short physical activity recall questionnaire.

PURPOSE: To develop and test two different short telephone activity recall (STAR) questionnaires, one with closed-ended and the other with open-ended response options, that assessed overall moderate and vigorous activity in a usual week. METHODS: One hundred four participants completed a 3-d test-retest study, and 88 participants completed 10-14, 24-h physical activity recalls (24PAR) and at least 7 d of objective physical activity monitoring by Actigraph during a 28-d period. RESULTS: Consistency of classification from one administration to the next was high (65-92%), extreme inconsistencies between reports were infrequent (0-7%), and kappa values were between 0.50 and 0.75. Correlations between self-reports and criterion measures for moderate-intensity duration were between 0.30 and 0.40. Agreement between the instruments and the 24PAR for meeting the moderate or vigorous recommendations was between 60 and 70%. For the 24PAR comparisons, kappa values tended to be higher for women than men, but were of only modest strength (kappa 0.40). With the 24PAR as criterion, sensitivity of the self-report instruments was between 50 and 90%, and specificity was between 63 and 84%. Kappa values comparing the instruments with the Actigraph were low (<0.20). Overall classification by the short instruments into meeting the recommendations was associated with higher levels of total 24PAR activity (P < or = 0.01) as well as greater steps per day and counts per minute per day from the Actigraph (P < or = 0.08). The open-ended instrument appeared to perform better for moderate-intensity activity, whereas the closed-ended item appeared to perform better for vigorous activity. CONCLUSION: The evaluated instruments had reasonable reliability and demonstrated an ability to capture important differences in overall physical activity patterns in this population, although individual classification errors were substantial.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Physical activity and reduced risk of incident sporadic colorectal adenomas: observational support for mechanisms involving energy balance and inflammation modulation.

To investigate the role of physical activity, energy balance, and inflammation on the risk of incident sporadic colorectal adenoma, the authors conducted a community- and colonoscopy-based case-control study (n = 177 cases, n = 228 controls) in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1995 to 1997. Participants reported energy intake by a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire, daily physical activity levels by a standardized questionnaire, and anthropometrics by self-assessment. The odds ratios for adenomas comparing the highest and lowest quantiles of exposure were 0.63 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34, 1.17) for physical activity, 0.80 (95% CI: 0.37, 1.73) for total energy intake, 0.70 (95% CI: 0.37, 1.34) for body mass index, 1.46 (95% CI: 0.73, 2.92) for waist/hip ratio, and 2.40 (95% CI: 1.24, 4.63) for height. For the combined effects of these factors, risk was particularly low for those with higher physical activity and low waist/hip ratio (odds ratio = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.75) or shorter stature (odds ratio = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.62). The inverse effect of physical activity was apparent only among those not taking nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (odds ratio = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.94). These findings add further evidence that physical activity and overall patterns indicating positive energy balance increase the risk of adenoma. Furthermore, the results suggest indirectly that biologic mechanisms related to inflammation may play a role in the beneficial effect of physical activity on the risk of incident adenoma.

Adenoma↗

PubMed2004

Seasonal variation in serum cholesterol levels: treatment implications and possible mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: A variety of studies have noted seasonal variation in blood lipid levels. Although the mechanism for this phenomenon is not clear, such variation could result in larger numbers of people being diagnosed as having hypercholesterolemia during the winter. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal study of seasonal variation in lipid levels in 517 healthy volunteers from a health maintenance organization serving central Massachusetts. Data collected during a 12-month period for each individual included baseline demographics and quarterly anthropometric, blood lipid, dietary, physical activity, light exposure, and behavioral information. Data were analyzed using sinusoidal regression modeling techniques. RESULTS: The average total cholesterol level was 222 mg/dL (5.75 mmol/L) in men and 213 mg/dL (5.52 mmol/L) in women. Amplitude of seasonal variation was 3.9 mg/dL (0.10 mmol/L) in men, with a peak in December, and 5.4 mg/dL (0.14 mmol/L) in women, with a peak in January. Seasonal amplitude was greater in hypercholesterolemic participants. Seasonal changes in plasma volume explained a substantial proportion of the observed variation. Overall, 22% more participants had total cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or greater (> or =6.22 mmol/L) in the winter than in the summer. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms seasonal variation in blood lipid levels and suggests greater amplitude in seasonal variability in women and hypercholesterolemic individuals, with changes in plasma volume accounting for much of the variation. A relative plasma hypervolemia during the summer seems to be linked to increases in temperature and/or physical activity. These findings have implications for lipid screening guidelines. Further research is needed to better understand the effects of a relative winter hemoconcentration.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Physical activity, body size, and estrogen metabolism in women.

OBJECTIVES: Physical activity has demonstrable effects on estrogen levels in pre- and postmenopausal women. Increased oxidation of estrone to 2-hydroxyestrone (2HE) relative to 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (16HE) has been hypothesized to reduce breast cancer risk, but little is known about the effect of physical activity and body size in relation to the ratio of 2HE and 16HE in women. We examined these relationships in cross-sectional analyses of 157 North American and Chinese women. METHODS: Physical activity was assessed using validated questionnaires. Adiposity was assessed as body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and by anthropometric methods (% body fat). Estrone metabolites, 2HE and 16HE, were determined from urine via ELISA. RESULTS: Regression analyses on the 2HE/16HE ratio revealed an interaction between leisure-time physical activities and adiposity in both North American and Chinese women (p < or = 0.05). Women reporting low levels of leisure-time physical activity who had higher BMI levels had 2HE/16HE ratios that were lower than their lean counterparts. In contrast, women with higher BMI levels that were physically active maintained higher 2HE/16HE ratios. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that physical activity participation has the potential to modify the adverse effect of increased adiposity on estrogen metabolism in North American and Chinese women.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2004

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction autograft choice: bone-tendon-bone versus hamstring: does it really matter? A systematic review.

Anterior cruciate ligament graft choice is controversial, with no evidence-based consensus available to guide decision making. The study design was evidence-based medicine systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating patellar tendon versus hamstring tendon autografts. A literature review identified 9 randomized controlled trials comparing patellar tendon and hamstring tendon autografts. An evidence-based systematic review was performed. Objective and subjective outcomes of interest included surgical technique, rehabilitation, instrumented laxity, isokinetic strength, patellofemoral pain, return to preinjury activity, and Tegner, Lysholm, Cincinnati, and International Knee Documentation Committee-1991 scores. Additional surgery, graft failure, and complications were reviewed. Slight increased laxity on arthrometer testing was seen in the hamstring population in 3 of 7 studies. Pain with kneeling was greater for the patellar tendon population in 4 of 4 studies. Only 1 of 9 studies showed increased anterior knee pain in the patellar tendon group. Frequency of additional surgery seemed to be related to the fixation method and not graft type. No study reported a significant difference in graft failure between patellar tendon and hamstring tendon autografts. Objective differences (range of motion, isokinetic strength, arthrometer testing) were not detected between groups in the majority of studies, suggesting that their sensitivity to detect clinical outcomes may be limited. Increased kneeling pain in the patellar tendon group was seen consistently in the studies evaluated. Subjective differences in anterior knee pain or return-to-activity level were not consistently observed in these studies. With numbers available, failure rates were not significantly different between groups. These findings suggest that graft type may not be the primary determinant for successful outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament↗

PubMed2003

Reproducibility and validity of the Shanghai Women's Health Study physical activity questionnaire.

In this investigation, the authors evaluated the reproducibility and validity of the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS) physical activity questionnaire (PAQ), which was administered in a cohort study of approximately 75,000 Chinese women aged 40-70 years. Reproducibility (2-year test-retest) was evaluated using kappa statistics and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Validity was evaluated by comparing Spearman correlations (r) for the SWHS PAQ with two criterion measures administered over a period of 12 months: four 7-day physical activity logs and up to 28 7-day PAQs. Women were recruited from the SWHS cohort (n = 200). Results indicated that the reproducibility of adolescent and adult exercise participation (kappa = 0.85 and kappa = 0.64, respectively) and years of adolescent exercise and adult exercise energy expenditure (ICC = 0.83 and ICC = 0.70, respectively) was reasonable. Reproducibility values for adult lifestyle activities were lower (ICC = 0.14-0.54). Significant correlations between the PAQ and criterion measures of adult exercise were observed for the first PAQ administration (physical activity log, r = 0.50; 7-day PAQ, r = 0.62) and the second PAQ administration (physical activity log, r = 0.74; 7-day PAQ, r = 0.80). Significant correlations between PAQ lifestyle activities and the 7-day PAQ were also noted (r = 0.33-0.88). These data indicate that the SWHS PAQ is a reproducible and valid measure of exercise behaviors and that it demonstrates utility in stratifying women by levels of important lifestyle activities (e.g., housework, walking, cycling).

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Body mass index, but not physical activity, is associated with C-reactive protein.

UNLABELLED: Elevated high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is associated with increased risk of future first and recurrent coronary events and has been associated with both high body mass index (BMI) and low physical activity in cross sectional studies. PURPOSE: To longitudinally examine the effects of BMI and both current and previous-year physical activity on hs-CRP in healthy men and women (N = 109). METHODS: BMI and hs-CRP were measured five times (baseline and quarterly) over 1 yr. Current physical activity was assessed 12-15 times during the study via 24-h recall. Previous-year physical activity was assessed using the Baecke questionnaire at baseline. RESULTS: Mean BMI and hs-CRP were unchanged over the course of the study, but current physical activity increased on visit 3. Average hs-CRP was not related to average current physical activity or to natural changes in current physical activity across the five visits. Additionally, current physical activity on any given visit was not associated with hs-CRP on the following visit. When current physical activity, BMI, age, gender, and smoking were included in the statistical model, only BMI was significantly related to hs-CRP (P < 0.001). Average hs-CRP was significantly correlated with average BMI (r = 0.50; P < 0.001) but was not related to previous-year (Baecke) physical activity levels (r = 0.02; P = 0.89). When subjects were grouped by BMI (<25 kg.m-2, 25-29.9 kg x m-2, >30 kg x m-2) hs-CRP was significantly greater in obese (3.2 +/- 1.9 mg.L-1) and overweight (2.1 +/- 1.7 mg x L-1) than normal weight (1.1 +/- 1.0 mg.L-1) subjects (ANOVA P < 0.05). Current physical activity was similar between the three BMI groups at all times, and was unrelated to hs-CRP in all groups, throughout the study period. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that BMI, but not previous-year or current physical activity, predicts hs-CRP.

Adult↗