Occupational physical activity as a determinant of daytime activity patterns and pregnancy and infant health.

Though physical activity (PA) is recommended during pregnancy, it remains unclear how occupational physical activity (OPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) contribute to activity patterns and health during pregnancy. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to determine if OPA pattern is a determinant of all-day PA and evaluate associations with pregnancy/infant health outcomes. Data was from two prospective cohorts with study visits each trimester: MoM Health (Pittsburgh, PA; n = 120) and PRAMS (Iowa City, Iowa; n = 20). Using employment status/job hours (self-reported in demographic questionnaires) and OPA from the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire, latent class analysis identified three groups: sitting (n = 61), part-time mixed (n = 9), and active (n = 29). A fourth group included non-working participants (n = 32). Device-based PA (ActiGraph GT3X), SB (activPAL3 micro), and blood pressure were measured each trimester. Glucose screening test, gestational age, gestational weight gain, adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs: gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm birth), and infant outcomes (length, weight, and sex) were abstracted from medical records. Associations between groups with APOs and pregnancy/infant health were calculated using linear/logistic regression with adjustment for age, pre-pregnancy BMI, education, and race. Self-reported participant characteristics were similar across groups, except education which was higher in the sitting versus other groups. All-day device-based PA differed across groups; for example, the sitting group had the highest SB across trimester (all p<0.01) while the active group had the highest steps per day across trimesters (all p<0.01). Pregnancy/infant health did not differ between groups (all p>0.09). Compared to the non-working group, the risk of any APO was non-significantly higher in the sitting (OR = 2.27, 95%CI = 0.63-8.18) and active groups (OR = 2.40, 95%CI = 0.66-9.75), though not the part-time mixed (OR = 0.86, 95%CI = 0.08-9.1). OPA pattern is a determinant of all-day PA during pregnancy. Future studies with larger samples should examine associations between pregnancy OPA patterns and pregnancy/infant health.

Blood pressure and heart rate variability responses following an acute bout of vinyasa yoga and a prolonged seated control: A randomized crossover trial.

Vinyasa yoga is moderate-intensity physical activity, yet physiological responses are poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a vinyasa yoga session on autonomic/cardiovascular functioning in healthy adults. A randomized crossover design took place at the Physical Activity and Weight Management laboratory (Pittsburgh, PA; n = 18), and included two experimental conditions: 60 minutes of vinyasa yoga or a seated control, and measurements were taken at baseline, 5-minutes, and 65-minute post-conditions. The primary cardiovascular-related outcomes of this study included blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and HR variability (HRV) measures [natural log transformed (ln) standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), high frequency (HF), and low frequency to high frequency ratio (LF/HF ratio)]. Linear mixed effects models were used for data analyses. Systolic BP was 8.14 mmHg lower at 5 minutes post yoga (p<0.001) but was not different 65 minutes post, compared to the control. HR was higher at 5- and 65-minutes post yoga compared to the control (10.49/4.70 bpm, respectively, both p<0.01). HRV was lower (worse) at 5 and 65 minutes post for lnSDNN, lnRMSSD, and lnHF (all p<0.01). LF/HF ratio was higher (worse) at 5 minutes post yoga compared to the control (difference = +0.38, p = 0.025), but not different at 65 minutes post between conditions. Compared to prolonged sitting, vinyasa yoga had variable effects on post-session autonomic function including favorable BP responses and unfavorable HR and HRV responses, further investigation is warranted.

Brachial-femoral pulse wave velocity in 2-4-year-old children: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) progression occurs across the lifespan. However, available measures of CVD risk in young children are limited. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is a gold-standard, noninvasive measure of CVD risk that has been studied in children ages 6-18 years. Yet, cfPWV has been measured to a lesser extent in younger children, a population whose temperament or attention span may pose unique challenges. Brachial-femoral PWV (bfPWV) may be feasible, more acceptable, and could provide similar CVD risk assessment to cfPWV in younger children. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of bfPWV measurement in children ages 2-4 years including assessment of comparability of bfPWV to cfPWV normative data. METHODS: In 10 children (mean 2.9 ± 0.5 years), oscillometric cuffs were placed on the upper thigh and upper arm. Following a 5-min rest, cuffs were inflated to a subdiastolic pressure three times, and waveforms were captured. Procedures were repeated after a 15-min rest. Measured values were compared to age-predicted cfPWV extrapolated from published normative data in children 6-18 years of age. RESULTS: We successfully obtained at least one acceptable quality bfPWV scan in all participants. Among the subset with a repeated measurement ( n = 5), mean (SD) difference between measurements was 0.013 (0.28) m/s. Mean bfPWV was slightly higher than age-predicted cfPWV (observed: 4.55 m/s; predicted: 3.99 m/s; P = 0.012) with larger residuals among younger children and those not reclined in a chair during measurement. CONCLUSION: bfPWV appears to be feasible tool for noninvasive CVD risk assessment in children ages 2-4 years.