Physical activity and long COVID: findings from the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health in Adults cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The study investigated the longitudinal association between physical activity and the risk of long COVID in patients who recovered from COVID-19 infection. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed longitudinal data of the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health cohort, a prospective cohort study with adults living in Southern Brazil. METHODS: Participants responded to an online, self-administered questionnaire in June 2020 (wave 1) and June 2022 (wave 4). Only participants who self-reported a positive test for COVID-19 were included. Physical activity was assessed before (wave 1, retrospectively) and during the pandemic (wave 1). Long COVID was assessed in wave 4 and defined as any post-COVID-19 symptoms that persisted for at least 3 months after infection. RESULTS: A total of 237 participants (75.1% women; mean age [standard deviation]: 37.1 [12.3]) were included in this study. The prevalence of physical inactivity in baseline was 71.7%, whereas 76.4% were classified with long COVID in wave 4. In the multivariate analysis, physical activity during the pandemic was associated with a reduced likelihood of long COVID (prevalence ratio [PR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-0.99) and a reduced duration of long COVID symptoms (odds ratio: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.26-0.75). Participants who remained physically active from before to during the pandemic were less likely to report long COVID (PR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.58-0.95), fatigue (PR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.32-0.76), neurological complications (PR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.27-0.80), cough (PR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.22-0.71), and loss of sense of smell or taste (PR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.21-0.87) as symptom-specific long COVID. CONCLUSION: Physical activity practice was associated with reduced risk of long COVID in adults.

Depression and anxiety symptoms remained elevated after 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Brazil: findings from the PAMPA cohort.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the changes in depression and anxiety symptoms among Brazilian adults over 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS: The present study used data from wave 1 (June/July 2020) and wave 2 (December 2020/January 2021) of the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health (PAMPA) Cohort, a state-level, ambispective longitudinal study with adults from southern Brazil. The frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Anxiety and depressive symptoms before social distancing were retrospectively assessed during wave 1. RESULTS: Most of the 674 participants were classified as non-symptomatic for depressive (85.0%) and anxiety symptoms (73.2%) before the COVID-19 pandemic. At wave 1, there were increases in symptoms of depression (7.6% [95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.2%, 8.1%]) and anxiety (9.1% [95% CI: 8.6%, 9.5%]). These decreased at wave 2 (depression: 6.9% [95% CI: 6.5%, 7.2%]; anxiety: 7.4% [95% CI: 7.1%, 7.8%]) although they were still elevated compared with pre-COVID (depression: 4.5% [95% CI: 4.2%, 4.8%]; anxiety: 5.8% [95% CI: 5.5%, 6.1%]). Adults living alone (b = 0.44 [95% CI: 0.07, 0.82]) had a faster trajectory in anxiety symptoms than their counterparts. Cohort members who were living alone (b = 0.24 [95% CI: 0.06, 0.42]) and with diagnosed chronic disease (0.32 [95% CI: 0.18, 0.46]) had a faster increase in depressive symptoms than their respective counterparts. Participants aged ≥60 years showed a slower trajectory of depressive (b = -0.46 [95% CI: -0.73, -0.18]) and anxiety (b = -0.61 [95% CI: -1.20, -0.02) symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: During 10 months of COVID-19, anxiety and depression symptoms improved but were still higher than before COVID-19.

Association between specific types of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of subjective memory decline: findings from the PAMPA Cohort.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the effects of different physical activities practised during the time period when COVID-19 social distancing measures were in place on the risk of subjective memory decline in adults. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Data from the Prospective Study about Mental and Physical Health (PAMPA), a state-level (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), online-based cohort study, were analysed. Respondents were asked to rate their memory before COVID-19 social distancing measures were implemented (retrospectively) and on the day that the survey was completed. Subjective memory decline was defined as a perceived worsening of memory function during COVID-19 social distancing compared with the pre-pandemic period. The types of physical activity practised before and during COVID-19 social distancing measures were assessed. RESULTS: Data from 2319 adults were included. Out-of-home endurance, muscle strengthening, combined endurance and muscle strengthening, and stretching activities reduced the risk of subjective memory decline during the pandemic. In terms of physical activities practised at home, only muscle strengthening did not protect against subjective memory decline. Participants who sustained any type of physical activity at home during the COVID-19 pandemic showed a reduced risk for subjective memory decline. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity, regardless of the type of activity and location performed, during the time period when COVID-19 social distancing measures were in place can mitigate the effects of the pandemic on subjective memory decline.

Sharp increase in depression and anxiety among Brazilian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the PAMPA cohort.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms before and during the pandemic and identify factors associated with aggravated mental health symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: We identified the proportion of normal, mild, moderate, and severe symptoms of depression and anxiety before and during the social distancing restrictions in adults from southern Brazil. An online, self-administered questionnaire was delivered for residents within the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were examined by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. RESULTS: Most of the participants (n = 2314) aged between 31 and 59 years (54.2%), were women (76.6%), White (90.6%) with a university degree (66.6%). Moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression and anxiety were reported in 3.9% and 4.5% of participants, respectively, before COVID-19. During the pandemic (June-July, 2020), these proportions increased to 29.1% (6.6-fold increase) and 37.8% (7.4-fold increase), respectively. Higher rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms were observed among women, those aged 18-30 years, diagnosed with chronic disease and participants who had their income negatively affected by social restrictions. Remaining active or becoming physically active during social distancing restrictions reduced the probability of aggravated mental health disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive and anxiety symptoms had a 6.6- and 7.4-fold increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. Public policies such as physical activity promotion and strategies to reduce the economic strain caused by this pandemic are urgently needed to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on mental health.

Aloe vera na criopreservação do sêmen de tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) / Aloe vera in the cryopreservation of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) sperm

This study aimed to evaluate the extract of Aloe vera (AV) associated or not with 10% Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) in cryopreservation of tambaqui semen. For the formation of the pools (n= 14), 30 males were hormonally induced twice. Each pool had the objective motility, curvilinear velocity, straight-line velocity, average path velocity and morphology analyzed before and after cryopreservation of semen. The means for cryopreservation were constituted of Powder Coconut Water-104 diluent added DMSO and/or AV (5 or 10%). After cryopreservation, motility, velocities and morphology were reduced significantly when compared to fresh semen. For sperm motility the best treatment was that using only DMSO (20,86±8,31) and DMSO + 5% AV (15.71±9.77). For the velocities, the worse treatment was DMSO+10% AV. Treatment with only the addition of DMSO had a significantly higher effect than others on percentage of morphologically normal sperm. The mean correlation found was between motilityand the rate of morphologically normal sperm (r = 0.687). In conclusion, the addition of AV does not provide greater protection for spermatozoa during cryopreservation.

Immunohistochemical identification of Toxoplasma gondii in tissues from Modified Agglutination Test positive sheep.

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic agent of great importance in veterinary and public health. The aim of this study was to identify T. gondii by IHC (immunohistochemistry) in different sheep tissues and to determine if an association exists between the results obtained by this method and those obtained by the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT). Tissue specimens of twenty-six sheep seroreactive for T. gondii were selected for histopathological evaluation. The presence of T. gondii was investigated in brain, liver and heart samples by IHC and a possible anti-T. gondii antibody cross reactions with other parasites. McNemar's, Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Tests were applied for the statistical analysis of the results. The analysed tissues showed at least one of the following histopathological changes: mild-to-moderate congestion, focal polymorphonuclear inflammatory infiltrate and multifocal or focal mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate. Sarcocystis spp. were identified in the histological sections from both the heart and diaphragm tissues of 88.5% (23/26) of the animals. A total of 46.2% (12/26) of the T. gondii seroreactive sheep was also positive for T. gondii by IHC in at least one organ (brain, liver or heart). The liver IHC-positivity for T. gondii was statistically equivalent to the global individual IHC-positivity, according to McNemar's test. In addition, IHC allowed the detection of T. gondii in infected animals regardless of the titration observed in the MAT. The statistical difference observed between the three organs when comparing the low titration group, suggested that the heart might be the most suitable organ to detect T. gondii infection by IHC. The IHC results in this study revealed that almost half of MAT positive animals could serve as potential sources of infection for humans because bradyzoites were identified in different tissues, regardless of the MAT titration.

Clinical significance of macroscopic completeness of mesorectal resection in rectal cancer.

AIM: Local recurrence after resection of rectal cancer is usually regarded as being due to a 'failure' of surgery. The completeness of resection of the mesorectum has been proposed as an indicator of the 'quality' of the resection. We determined the prognostic value of macroscopic evaluation of rectal cancer resection specimens and the circumferential resection margin (CRM) after curative surgery. METHOD: From 1999 to 2006, the macroscopic quality of the mesorectum and the CRM were prospectively assessed in 127 patients who underwent rectal cancer resection with curative intent (R0+R1). Chemoradiotherapy was administered for 61 tumours staged as locally advanced tumours (T3, T4 and N+). Univariate analysis of time to local recurrence and cancer-free survival were tested (Kaplan-Meier) and multivariate analysis calculated with a Cox regression model. RESULTS: The mesorectum was incomplete in 34 (26.8%) patients. At a median follow up of 34 months (range, 9-96 months), in the group with an adequate mesorectal excision, the cumulative risk of local recurrence at 5 years was 10%. This was 25% if the mesorectum was incomplete (P < 0.01). Five-year cancer-free survival was 65% if the mesorectal excision was adequate and 47% if it was not (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis identified T status, the CRM and the mesorectal score as independent factors for local recurrence, and T and N status and the mesorectal score as independent factors for disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: The outcome of surgical treatment of rectal cancer is related to the completeness of mesorectal excision. It is a more discriminative prognostic factor than the classic tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) system.

Is prophylactic colectomy indicated in patients with MYH-associated polyposis?

OBJECTIVES: The MYH gene has recently been associated with multiple colorectal tumours. It participates in the DNA base-excision-repair, avoiding mutations in other genes, namely the APC and Ki-ras. Recently, biallelic MYH mutations have been described in patients with attenuated polyposis and in 7.5% with classic polyposis and no detectable APC mutation. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence of germ-line MYH mutations in selected Portuguese families recorded in a hereditary tumour registry and to evaluate the risk of colorectal cancer in this syndrome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen APC mutation negative patients, 13 presenting attenuated polyposis and 6 with classic familial adenomatous polyposis (> 100 adenomas), were screened for germline biallelic MYH mutations. RESULTS: Biallelic germline mutations in MYH were identified in 9 of the attenuated polyposis and in one of the classic polyposis patients. The mean age at the clinical diagnosis was 50.6 years (from 35 to 69 years); six were men and four women. Five patients belonged to families with affected siblings; three showed evidence for vertical transmission and two had no evidence for familial transmission of the disease. No extra-colonic manifestations were reported. All patients had surgical resections: five total colectomies, four reconstructive proctocolectomies and one left hemicolectomy. Eight patients had associated malignant degeneration: three T3N+, four T3N0 and one T1N+. In the follow-up two patients died due to tumour recurrence. CONCLUSION: A large frequency of biallelic MYH mutations (69%) was found in APC mutation negative patients belonging to families with attenuated polyposis; the highest percentage was observed in families presenting evidence for horizontal transmission of the disease. The high percentage of degeneration found in these patients suggests that colonoscopy with polypectomies is not sufficient and prophylactic colectomy is recommended. The identification of MYH associated polyposis is important to evaluate the level of risk, particularly for the siblings.