The Attributable Proportion of Specific Leisure-Time Physical Activities to Total Leisure Activity Volume Among US Adults, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have examined participation in specific leisure-time physical activities (PA) among US adults. The purpose of this study was to identify specific activities that contribute substantially to total volume of leisure-time PA in US adults. METHODS: Proportion of total volume of leisure-time PA moderate-equivalent minutes attributable to 9 specific types of activities was estimated using self-reported data from 21,685 adult participants (≥ 18 years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006. RESULTS: Overall, walking (28%), sports (22%), and dancing (9%) contributed most to PA volume. Attributable proportion was higher among men than women for sports (30% vs. 11%) and higher among women than men for walking (36% vs. 23%), dancing (16% vs. 4%), and conditioning exercises (10% vs. 5%). The proportion was lower for walking, but higher for sports, among active adults than those insufficiently active and increased with age for walking. Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, the proportion was lower for sports among non-Hispanic white men and for dancing among non-Hispanic white women. CONCLUSIONS: Walking, sports, and dance account for the most activity time among US adults overall, yet some demographic variations exist. Strategies for PA promotion should be tailored to differences across population subgroups.

Exploring violence against women and adverse health outcomes in middle age to promote women's health.

A history of intimate partner violence (IPV) is linked to cardiovascular disorders among women. Static autonomic nervous system (ANS) imbalance may result from chronic stress associated with exposure to IPV. Autonomic nervous system imbalance is associated with an excessive proinflammatory response that may increase the risk for inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis. To better understand the process from IPV to poorer health outcomes in women diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) we developed and tested a biobehavioral model of the psychological and biological pathway from IPV to chronic illness. We hypothesized that among women hospitalized for ACS, those who reported sexual abuse, with or without physical abuse, would have greater alterations in their serum levels of neuroendocrine markers, proinflammatory cytokines, and cell adhesion molecules and a chemotactic cytokine, at time of hospitalization for ACS, and 3 and 6 months later, than do women with physical abuse only. Participants were 45 women, primarily African American, admitted to a county hospital with a diagnosis of ACS. We evaluated 11 biomarkers and found a moderate group effect size for vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. All others had a small effect size.