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Epidemiological studies on the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain have consistently shown that this is a relevant health problem, with non-specific low back pain (LBP) being the most commonly reported in adult females. Conflicting data on the association between LBP symptoms and physical activity (PA) have been reported. Here, we investigated the prevalence of LBP and the effect of a 24-month non-specific PA intervention on changes in LBP prevalence in a series of Italian healthy postmenopausal women. We performed a secondary analysis in the frame of the DAMA trial, a factorial randomized intervention trial aimed to evaluate the ability of a 24-month intervention, based on moderate-intensity PA, and/or dietary modification, in reducing mammographic breast density in healthy postmenopausal women. The PA intervention included at least 1 hour/day of moderate PA and a more strenuous weekly activity, collective walks and theoretical group sessions. A self-administered pain questionnaire was administered at baseline and at the end of the intervention. The questionnaire was specifically structured to investigate the occurrence of musculoskeletal pain, the body localization, intensity and duration of the pain. Two hundred and ten women (102 randomized to PA intervention, 108 not receiving the PA intervention) filled out the questionnaires. At baseline LBP was present in 32.9% of the participants. Among women randomized to the PA intervention, LBP prevalence at follow up (21.6%) was lower than at baseline (33.3%) (p = 0.02), while in women who did not receive the PA intervention the LBP prevalence at baseline and follow up were 32.4% and 25.9%, respectively (p = 0.30). Overall, there was no significant between-group effect of PA intervention on LBP. Further studies are needed to understand the role of non-specific PA intervention, aimed to improve overall fitness, on LBP prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a simple, non-invasive, real-time and highly reproducible measurement that represents a significant indicator for assessing a health and physical condition, according to the protocols of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the North American Society of Electrophysiological Stimulation (NASPE). Few studies so far on heart rate variability in active duty military personnel. METHODS: 112 male soldiers were enrolled, in the period between March and December 2019, and divided into six subgroups: office work (control group), internal night work, external night work, paratroopers, snipers with and without evaluation. Measurements were made with the Zephyr BioHarness 3 device. Raw data was analyzed with Kubios HRV software. RESULTS: The results of multi:le comparisons of the HRV parameters between the different subgroups showed significant differences for all the considered HRV parameters (p <0.05). Mean HR was significantly higher in skydivers and both subgroups of sharpshooters. Similarly, all the measured time and frequency-domain parameters, SDNN, RMSSD VLF, LF power, HF power, and PNS index were significantly higher in the control group than paratroopers and shooters but not compared to night work (both internal and external). Young age, as well as drug intake, relates with higher HRV levels. No associations were found between smoking habits and HRV parameters, possibly due to the ban on smoking during work. In spite of what was expected, as reported in the literature, night work did not affect HRV parameters, showing no statistically significant differences compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS Highly demanding work tasks, such as paratroopers and sharpshooters, involve a significantly higher stress index and SNS index than the control group. The intake of non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) modifies cardiac regulation, linked to the sympathetic component, as evidenced by the reduction in the HR and SNS index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a simple, non-invasive, real-time analyzable, and highly reproducible measurement that captures incidences for assessing a person's health and physical condition. Public security jobs are characterized by major exposure to risk factors known to influence the cardiovascular response to stimuli, e.g., night shifts, highly physically demanding activity, and acute stress activity. This study aimed to evaluate the HRV parameters in a population of 112 male personnel of the special forces and public order of the Carabinieri, aged 25–59, when engaged in several duty tasks, such as paratroopers, night shift police station officers, night shift patrol, dynamic precision shooting evaluative team, dynamic precision shooting non-evaluative team, and office clerks (used as control group). During the specific task of each participant, the HRV parameters were collected with wearable devices and processed. The HRV parameters in the time and frequency domains collected were average heart rate, standard deviation of all normal RR intervals, root mean square of successive differences in adjacent normal-to-normal (NN) intervals, very-low-frequency power, low-frequency power, high-frequency power, stress index, parasympathetic nervous system activity index, and sympathetic nervous system activity index. Parametric tests for independent series to compare the HRV parameters by subgroups within the study subjects were used. A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between the HRV parameters and some personal and organizational factors. The comparison between different subgroups showed that activities with a high demand for concentration and precision, as is the case with paratroopers and dynamic precision shooters, differ significantly from activities that can be defined as routine, such as office work. Other activities, such as patrolling or remote management from operations centers, although including critical elements, did not deviate significantly from the control group. The study of HRV parameters is therefore a useful tool for occupational physicians, both for addressing work suitability assessments and for better targeting health promotion campaigns, to be considered as being aimed at monitoring the subject's physiological parameters, and not at the diagnosis of any pathological condition, which should always be carried out by the medical specialist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver transplant recipients require specific clinical and psychosocial attention given their frailty. Main aim of the study was to assess the quality of life after liver transplant during the current pandemic., Methods: This multicentre study was conducted in clinically stable, liver transplanted patients. Enrollment opened in June and finished in September 2021. Patients completed a survey including lifestyle data, quality of life (Short Form health survey), sport, employment, diet. To examine the correlations, we calculated Pearson coefficients while to compare subgroups, independent samples t-tests and ANOVAs. To detect the predictors of impaired quality of life, we used multivariable logistic regression analysis., Results: We analysed data from 511 patients observing significant associations between quality of life's physical score and both age and adherence to Mediterranean diet (p < .01). A significant negative correlation was observed between mental score and the sedentary activity (p < .05). Female patients scored significantly lower than males in physical and mental score. At multivariate analysis, females were 1.65 times more likely to report impaired physical score than males. Occupation and physical activity presented significant positive relation with quality of life. Adherence to Mediterranean diet was another relevant predictor. Regarding mental score, female patients were 1.78 times more likely to show impaired mental score in comparison with males. Sedentary activity and adherence to Mediterranean diet were further noteworthy predictors., Conclusions: Females and subjects with sedentary lifestyle or work inactive seem to show the worst quality of life and both physical activity and Mediterranean diet might be helpful to improve it., (© 2022 The Authors. Liver International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)