Physical fitness and fatness among Omani schoolboys: a pilot study

Objective - To study the applicability of simple field measurements of physical fitness in a sample of Omani boys and their relationships to selected variables. Method - Two field measures of physical fitness-the time to complete 1.6-km run/walk and the sum of 5 skinfold thicknesses-were correlated with personal and family physical activity-related and other variables in a sample of 109 Omani boys aged 9-11 years. Results - Obesity in parents, especially in the mother, showed significant correlation with both fitness measures. The waist/buttocks ratio showed no significant correlation with the 1.6-km time. The number of siblings and siblings sharing a room, number of T.V -watching hours and the number of servants in the family showed no correlation with the chosen fitness indices. Conclusion - The results of this pilot study indicate that simple field fitness tests can be used in children and they can yield valuable information related to physical fitness. The same protocol used in this study could be applied to a national study in Oman

Pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: a review

Sleep apnoea syndrome is a common disorder and a major health hazard that affects many body systems. It is particularly associated with increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality. Among its other manifestations include increased daytime somnolence, fatigue, depression, reduced sexual libido and endocrine dysfunction. The main risk factors are obesity, male gender, middle age and heredity. Despite being a recognised major health problem in the industrialised countries, this condition has not yet received its due importance in the developing world. This review introduces breathing disorders during sleep and discusses the pathophysiological features of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in the light of the currently available literature and the authors' own clinical experience

Non-dipping blood pressure in normotensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea

To investigate circadian blood pressure profiles in normotensive patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea [OSA], in relation to their apnea indices and left ventricular parameters, we studied twenty one male patients with clinic blood pressures of< 140/90 mmHg. They were matched for age and body mass index [BMI] and all were heavy snorers. They underwent overnight polysomnography, 24 h non-invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring [ABPM] and echocardiography. Patients with a nocturnal reduction in average daytime systolic and diastolic blood pressure of less than 10% were considered non-dippers. Nine patients were non-dippers and 12 were dippers. In the non-dipper group asleep systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher than in the dipper group, [P< 0.0001 and P<0.01 respectively]. There were no significant differences between the apnea/hypopnea [AHI] and the oxygen desaturation [ODI] indices of the dipper and the non-dipper groups. However, left ventricular parameters were significantly higher in the non-dipper than in the dipper group: left ventricular mass index [LVMI, P<0.001], posterior wall thickness [PWT, P<0.001], interventricular septal thickness [IVST, P<0.001] and relative wall thickness [RWT, P<0.01]. In this preliminary study an absent or reduced blood pressure fall during sleep in normotensive patients with moderate to severe OSA cannot be explained by the severity of the apnea alone. Left ventricular hypertrophy, though may be a sequel to the non-dipper situation may also be the cause of it

Teaching of clinical physiology in. The medical curriculum the Omani model

In recent years, Physiology, as a medical discipline is continuously drifting away from the study of the complex, integrated whole body functions towards cellular and molecular levels. This has resulted in a steady increase in molecular biologists and a steady decline in medical physiologists in departments of Physiology in medical schools. Such change is already having its impact on the teaching of body systems and integrative Physiology to medical students, as evident the shifting of such teaching from Physiology departments to the respective clinical departments where Physiology is being taught by physicians of the respective clinical departments where Physiology is being taught by physicians of the respective clinical disciplines. The aim of this presentation is to show that the introduction of the teaching of Physiology in medical schools and teaching hospitals can help to restore the intergrity of medical Physiology as an entity in medicine

role of autonomic nervous system in exercise bradycardia in rats

It has been a commonly held belief that the relative bradycardia found in athletes and in chronically exercised animals is due to an excessive vagal tone, although the experimental evidence for this is both indirect and unconvincing. Daily swimming of 1.5 hours up to a total of 45 hours produced bradycardia. The contribution of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity to the resting heart rate of trained and control rats was investigated by means of differential blockade of the autonomic nervous system by atropine sulphate and propranolol hydrochloride. This procedure permits the calculation of the intrinsic heart rate and the contribution of the autonomic tone to the control of heart rate. The calculated sympathetic tone [as% of intrinsic heart rate] in the trained rats was 87% that of the control. Reduction in the parasympathetic tone in the trained rats was only 5% that of control. It was concluded, from this study, that training bradycardia resulted from greater reduction in sympathetic than parasympathetic tone, although the activity of both sympathetic and parasympathetic was reduced in the trained rats

Peripheral nerve function in acute and chronic uremia

Several lines of evidence indicate that abnormalities in the central and peripheral nervous system develop in uremia. Elevated parathyroid hormone in blood is a common feature of uremia. This study aims to throw light on the relation between uremia, parathyroid hormone [PTH] and motor nerve conduction velocity [MNCV]. Thirty albino rats Wistar strain were used in three groups, ten for each: sham operated, acutely uremic and chronically uremic. Blood urea nitrogen [BUN], blood creatinine, blood calcium [Ca[++]] and phosphorus [PO[4]], Plasma immuno reactive PTH and MNCV were measured. The results showed, in uremic animals a significant increase in PTH level [P < 0.01] and phosphorus level [P < 0.001] while plasma Ca[++] showed insignificant increase. At the same time MNCV showed a significant reduction, compared with the sham operated animals. The study suggests that, the excess PTH plays a role in the etiology of peripheral neuropathy in uremia. PTH most probably increases the Ca[++] content of the peripheral nerves and may induce both structural and functional changes in the nerves

Cardiovascular responses to electrically induced static and dynamic exercise in anaesthetized rats

Cardiovascular responses to static exercise have been considered to be distinctly different from those to dynamic exercise. This work aims at comparing haemodynamic response to static and dynamic exercises. Fifteen males anaesthetized albino rats were used in this study. The results of their heart rate and arterial blood pressure suggested that similarities in cardiovascular responses are much more than their dissimilarities under the two modes of exercises

variability of blood pressure

Blood pressure in all individuals fluctuates from minute to minute, depending upon the physical and psychological state of the individual. The most reliable way of assessing these fluctuations is by continuous direct ambulatory monitoring, which can measure the beat-to-beat variation of arterial pressure in a reproducible manner, free of the effect of an observer. The variability of mean blood pressure increases with advancing age and with hypertension. Variability can be roughly predicted, in a particular individual from his response to pressor stimuli, whether psychological or physical. The sino-aortic baroreceptor reflexes, the sympathetic nervous system and the renin-angiotensin system appear to act in concert to regulate these variations in normal and hypertensive man. The extent to which the arterial baroreceptors act as long-term buffers of blood pressure is still controversial. Borderline blood pressure elevation does not appear to be associated with an increase in blood pressure lability; moreover, it would not seem to confer any immunity from subsequent cardiovasuclar events. We agree with Pickering's view that borderline hypertension represents an arbitrary distinction in a continuously distributed variable. We similarly believe that the term 'labile hypertension' should be dropped and replaced with a numerical description of the standard deviation of arterial pressure over a defined period and with specified conditions with regard to activity and state of wakefulness