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Objective@#The study aims to investigate the impact of moderate intensity gymnastics on the development of executive function in children aged 5-6, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for exercise interventions targeting executive function.@*Methods@#A total of 63 preschool children, randomly seleted from 3 senior classes in a private kindergarten in Shangqiu, were randomly allocated to the intervention group ( n =31) and control group ( n =32). Children in the intervention group participated in 60 minute gymnastics at a moderate intensity, three times per week, for a total duration of 12 weeks. Concurrently, myzone technology was utilized to monitor exercise intensity throughout the entire intervention period. Children in the control group maintained their regular activities. Inhibitory control (Flanker task), working memory (Empty house task), and cognitive flexibility (Dots task) were assessed before and after the experiment.@*Results@#There was no statistically significant difference in the performance of inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility tasks between the two groups of children before intervention ( P >0.05) .The results of covariance analysis revealed significant differences in reaction time [(782.88±24.29，805.13±23.74；719.90±119.99， 833.55± 177.87；1 042.39±72.75，1 091.29±49.42) ms] and accuracy[(73.86±7.26)%，(67.02±8.22)%;(86.36±7.63)%，( 80.50± 9.39 )%;(76.45±9.48)%，(69.59±7.66)%] across inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility between the intervention group and the control group ( F =6.84, 4.50，4.87, 6.11, 3.74 , 5.06 , P <0.05). The intervention effect exhibited modest effects( d =0.17-0.74).@*Conclusions@#Moderate intensity gymnastics can make modest or moderate effect on improving children s executive function. Brain imaging technology can be incorporated into future research designs to investigate the underlying mechanisms of gymnastics impact on the brain structure and executive function in young children.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in male Chinese octogenarians and nonagenarians with hypertension.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ankle-brachial index (ABI) was measured in the noninvasive vascular laboratory for hypertensive male octogenarians and nonagenarians enrolled from outpatient and inpatient departments. The baseline conditions were investigated using standard questionnaire and by routine physical examinations. PAD was diagnosed when an ABI≤0.9 in either lower extremity.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally 290 male Chinese octogenarians and nonagenarians [age: (84.61±4.20) years] with hypertension who were receiving antihypertensive therapy were enrolled in this study, among whom 9 men with missing data except age and ABI measurements. The ABI was 0.948±0.258, with the range of highest frequency of 0.91-1.30, and 106 patients were diagnosed as PAD, 182 as non-PAD, and 2 had ABI>1.3. ABI in hypertensive men with PAD were significantly lower than in those without PAD (P<0.05). On the contrary, age, blood urea nitrogen, white blood cell counts, platelets and aspartic transaminase were significantly higher in PAD patients than in non-PAD patients (all P<0.05). The prevalence of PAD in this study population were 36.5%; more specifically, it significantly differed between different subgroups when stratified by age (28.6% vs. 46.3%, below and above 85 years), with and without hypertension (27.5% vs. 40.1%), stroke (44.7% vs. 27.5%), dyslipidemia (41.4% vs. 33.3%), coronary artery disease (44.1% vs. 13.9%), and diabetes mellitus (53.7% vs. 21.8%) (all P<0.05). The prevalences of PAD in hypertensive patients treated with diuretics, calcium antagonists, beta-blocker, or angiotensin receptor antagonist were 41.4%, 36.1%, 22.4%, and 26.8%, respectively. No association was observed between the prevalence of PAD and smoking/alcohol drinking in these subjects. Multivariate analysis showed that age (OR 1.12, 95%CI 1.014-1.238), blood urea nitrogen (OR 1.15, 95%CI 1.025-1.301), aspartic transaminase (OR 1.05, 95%CI 1.005-1.089), diabetes mellitus (OR 4.02, 95%CI 1.797-9.009), coronary artery disease (OR 6.34, 95%CI 1.734-23.214) were strong risk factors of PAD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PAD is highly prevalent among aged Chinese hypertensive men, in which age, blood urea nitrogen, aspartic transaminase, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease may be involved in the development of this condition.</p>