Working memory performance differentiated by physical functional capacity in late-adulthood / Rendimiento de la memoria de trabajo diferenciado por la capacidad funcional física en la edad adulta tardía / Desempenho da memória de trabalho diferenciado pela capacidade física funcional no final da idade adulta

The aim of this study was to examine whether working memory performance is differentiated by higher and lower physical functional capacities in the elderly. Forty-six healthy, active older males aged 65-75 years were assigned into either a Higher-capacity group (HC group; n = 23) or Lower-capacity group (LC group; n = 23) based on the median split of their distance walked in the 6-min walking test, an assessment tool for physical functional capacity. The Sternberg working memory paradigm was employed to measure working memory performance, where data on reaction times (RT) and response accuracy were collected as performance indices. Results demonstrated that the HC group had faster RT compared with the LC group. No group difference in response accuracy was observed. Overall, the study indicated that working memory performance may be differentiated by physical functional capacity in healthy, active older males (AU)

El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar si el desempeño de la memoria de trabajo se diferenció por mayores y menores capacidades físicas funcionales en los ancianos. Cuarenta y seis hombres sanos y activos mayores de 65-75 años fueron asignados a un grupo de mayor capacidad (grupo HC, n = 23) o grupo de menor capacidad (grupo LC, n = 23) basado en la división media de su distancia recorrida en el test de 6 min de marcha, una herramienta de evaluación de la capacidad funcional física. El paradigma de memoria de trabajo de Sternberg se empleó para medir el rendimiento de la memoria de trabajo, donde los datos sobre los tiempos de reacción (RT) y la precisión de respuesta se recogieron como índices de rendimiento. Los resultados demostraron que el grupo HC tuvo una RT más rápida en comparación con el grupo LC. No se observó diferencia de grupo en la exactitud de la respuesta. En general, el estudio indicó que el rendimiento de la memoria de trabajo puede ser diferenciado por la capacidad funcional física en los hombres mayores sanos activos (AU)

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar se o desempenho da memória de trabalho é diferenciado pela maior e menores por capacidades físicas e físicas nos idosos. Quarenta e seis homens saudáveis, ativos e mais velhos, com idades entre 65 e 75 anos, foram divididos em um grupo de maior capacidade (grupo HC, n = 23) ou grupo com menor capacidade (grupo LC, n = 23), com base na divisão mediana de seus Distância percorrida no teste de caminhada de 6 minutos, uma ferramenta de avaliação da capacidade funcional física. O paradigma da memória de trabalho de Sternberg foi empregado para medir o desempenho da memória de trabalho, onde os dados sobre tempos de reação (RT) e precisão de resposta foram coletados como índices de desempenho. Os resultados demonstraram que o grupo HC apresentou RT mais rápida em comparação com o grupo LC. Nenhuma diferença de grupo na exatidão de resposta foi observada. Em geral, o estudo indicou que o desempenho da memória de trabalho pode ser diferenciado pela capacidade funcional física em homens ativos e saudáveis, mais velhos (AU)

Acute Resistance Exercise Facilitates Attention Control in Adult Males without an Age-Moderating Effect.

The current study examined the effects of acute resistance exercise (RE) on adult males' attention control. Eighteen younger males (23.9 ± 2.3 years) and 17 older males (66.4 ± 1.2 years) were recruited. Participants underwent a RE session and a reading session in a counterbalanced order. RE protocol required individuals to perform two sets of 10 repetitions of eight exercises using weights set at 70% of 10-repetition maximum. Attention control was assessed by go/no-go SART with intraindividual variability in reaction times (IIV in RT), in addition to reaction time and accuracy, employed as measures of attention control. Results indicated that IIV in RT was smaller following RE sessions than after reading sessions for both age groups. In addition, RTs were shorter after the exercise session. These findings suggest that RE enhances attention control in adult males and that the size of this effect is not moderated by age.

Community-based postpartum exercise program.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise programme for postpartum women to lose weight and relieve fatigue and depression. BACKGROUND: The optimal period for weight loss is six months postpartum. However, most women cannot return to their pre-pregnancy fitness level within that period of time. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental one-group pretest-post-test design was carried out. METHODS: A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 28 women at 2-6 months postpartum. The 'Yoga and Pilates Exercise Programme for Postpartum Woman' was designed for this study and was delivered in group sessions once a week for three months (12 times total) for 60 minutes each time by a professional coach. Of the participants, 23 completed the entire program. The participants' body composition and levels of depression and fatigue were measured before and after the programme to identify differences. RESULTS: Women in the high-score group showed a significant decrease of 6·71 ± 5·71 points (t = 3·113, p = 0·021) in the depression score after participating in the exercise programme. No significant difference was found for the level of fatigue before and after the exercise programme (p > 0·05). Significant reductions in the participants' body weight, body fat percentage, fat mass and basic metabolic rate were observed after the exercise programme (p < 0·001). CONCLUSIONS: These physical activities benefited the physical and mental health of postpartum women and enhanced their quality of life. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is worthwhile promoting a yoga and Pilates exercise programme for postpartum women in communities.

Sleep quality among community-dwelling elderly people and its demographic, mental, and physical correlates.

BACKGROUND: Sleep quality is an important predictor of well being in the elderly. However, the effects of depression and physical activity on sleep quality among elderly are less clear. METHODS: One hundred older individuals who met the inclusion criteria were randomly sampled from a Taipei district elderly residential list. Door-to-door interviews were conducted. Sleep quality (the outcome variable), physical activity and depression symptoms were measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), and Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ), respectively. Logistic regression was performed to examine the relationship between the above major variables. RESULTS: A half of the elderly had short sleep onset (<15 minutes) but reported poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5). Twenty-two percent of community-dwelling elders used psychoactive medication for sleep. The prevalence of depressive disorders (TDQ ≥ 19) was 7%. Although both physical activity and depression were significantly associated with sleep quality in the univariate analysis, only depression remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, education, marital status, and chronic illness confounders in logistic regression (OR=1.31, 95% confidence interval=1.12-1.52). CONCLUSION: Elderly depression symptoms was the only factor significantly associating with poor sleep quality after adjustment. Higher level of physical activity was associated with better sleep quality in univariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis, which considered the factor of elderly depression symptoms in the elderly. The role of physical activity in late life potentially influence sleep quality but may have less significance compared with depression. Therefore, we suggest the need for more future research to investigate the relationship between elderly people's sleep and physical activity.

Suppression of age-dependent increase in insulinemia in early middle-aged females with exercise habit.

Circulating insulin concentration has been suggested as a biomarker for human longevity. The goal of the study was to determine the insulin levels under a glucose-challenged condition for the sedentary and physical active females in early middle age. We measured serum insulin levels for following groups: young sedentary (Y-SED, age 19.7 +/- 0.2 years), middle-aged sedentary (M-SED, age 42.3 +/- 3.1 years), young physically active (Y-EX, age 20.7 +/- 0.5 years), and middle-aged physically active (M-EX, age 40.3 +/- 2.8 years). Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin measurement were performed under overnight fasted condition. Triglyceride, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were also determined in all subjects. While fasted glucose and insulin levels were not different among 4 groups, glucose and insulin levels under OGTT were greater in the M-SED group than those in the Y-SED group. The M-EX subjects exhibited lower insulin levels on OGTT, as compared to the M-SED group, and were similar to the level of Y-SED. BMI and WHR of the M-SED group were comparable to those of the M-EX group. Triglyceride and cholesterol levels were highly associated with age and WHR but not the level of physical activity. The current study found a substantially greater insulin response on OGTT in the healthy sedentary females aged approximately 40, as compared to those in the young sedentary and the middle-aged physically active females, independent of weight status. The result of the study also suggests that accumulating 150 min of weekly exercise is sufficient to counteract the adverse effect of age on insulin sensitivity.

A possible link between exercise-training adaptation and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate- an oldest-old female study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the level of salivary dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and the magnitude of adaptation to exercise training in insulin sensitivity for aged females. A group of 16 females, aged 80-93 years old, was divided into 2 groups according to their baseline DHEA-S levels: Lower Halves (N = 8) and Upper Halves (N = 8), and participated in a 4-month exercise intervention trial. Insulin response with an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), cholesterol, blood pressure (BP), motor performance, and DHEA-S were determined at baseline and 4 months after the training program. Glucose tolerance and body mass index (BMI) remained unchanged with training for both groups. Insulin, fasted cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure, reaction time, and locomotive function were significantly lowered by training only in the Upper Halves group. Changes in the area under curve of insulin (IAUC) were negatively correlated with the baseline DHEA-S level (R= - 0.60, P < 0.05). The current study provides the first evidence that oldest-old subjects with low DHEA-S level appear to be poor responders to exercise-training adaptations.