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Background: Describing correlates of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) among postmenopausal cancer survivors can help identify risk profiles and can be used to support development of targeted interventions to improve PA and reduce SB in this population. Objective: To describe PA/SB and identify correlates of PA/SB among cancer and cancer-free post-menopausal women. Methods: Women from the Women's Health Study (N = 16,629) and Women's Health Initiative/Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health Study (N = 6,079) were asked to wear an accelerometer on the hip for 7 days. Multiple mixed-effects linear regression models were used to identify sociodemographic-, health-, and chronic condition-related correlates (independent variables) associated with PA and SB (dependent variables) among women with (n = 2,554) and without (n = 20,154) a history of cancer. All correlates were mutually adjusted for each other. Results: In unadjusted analyses, women with a history of cancer took fewer mean daily steps (4,572 (standard deviation 2557) vs 5,029 (2679) steps/day) and had lower mean moderate-to-vigorous PA (74.9 (45.0) vs. 81.6 (46.7) minutes/day) than cancer-free women. In adjusted analyses, for cancer and cancer-free women, age, diabetes, overweight, and obesity were inversely associated with all metrics of PA (average vector magnitude, time in moderate-to-vigorous PA, step volume, time at ≥40 steps/minutes, and peak 30-minute step cadence). In unadjusted analyses, mean SB was similar for those with and without cancer (529.7 (98.1) vs. 521.7 (101.2) minutes/day). In adjusted analyses, for cancer and cancer-free women, age, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, current smoking, overweight, and obesity were positive correlates of SB, while Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity, weekly/daily alcohol intake, and excellent/very good/good self-rated health were inverse correlates of SB. Conclusion: Several sociodemographic, health, and chronic conditions were correlates of PA/SB for postmenopausal women with and without cancer. Future studies should examine longitudinal relationships to gain insight into potential determinants of PA/SB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In a cross-sectional sample of US Hispanic/Latino adults, we aimed to describe step-based metric distributions, estimate their associations with activity counts and self-report, and calibrate step-based translations of current (2018) US physical activity (PA) guidelines, that is, ≥150 min·wk-1 moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) from accelerometer counts and self-report. Methods: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos enrolled 16,415 Hispanic/Latino adults 18-74 yr from four US cities (2008-2011). Participants completed the Global PA Questionnaire and 1 wk of Actical accelerometer wear (n = 12,528). Weighted medians were used to describe step-based metrics, and Spearman correlations estimated their relationships with count-based and self-reported PA indicators. Receiver operator characteristic curve analyses were used to examine the ability of each step-basedmetric to classify participantsmeeting PAguidelines. Results: Overall, US Hispanic/Latino adults accumulated medians of 6770 steps per day and 6, 18, 236, and 630 min·d-1 at ≥100, ≥70, 1-69, and 0 steps perminute, respectively. Count-based time inMVPA, light PA, and sedentary behavior weremost strongly correlated (rs = 0.79-0.85) with times ≥70, 1-69, and 0 steps perminute, respectively,whereas self-reported MVPA had similar correlations with steps per day and times ≥40 and ≥70 steps per minute (rs = 0.28-0.29). Time ≥70 steps per minute had the greatest capacity to classify participants meeting PA guidelines with both measures of MVPA. Conclusions: This study provides the first normative values (based on percentiles) of step-based metrics for US Hispanic/Latino adults, which can facilitate surveillance, program planning, research, and data interpretation. Our finding that PA guidelines corresponded to 6000-7000 steps per day or ~20 min·d-1 at ≥70 steps per minute with an Actical accelerometer can be considered alongside dose-response relationships with health outcomes to develop step-based recommendations that are consistent with and better communicate PA guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) and associated factors in women of childbearing age. The study was conducted in a small Orang Asli (indigenous Malay) community, 46 km south-east of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Women without children or who were not pregnant with their first child were excluded. Of the 45 women eligible, four women did not participate as they were absent from the village for the duration of the study. Thyroid palpation and urinary iodine level were used to determine the prevalence of IDD. The consumption of foods rich in iodine was determined using a food frequency questionnaire. The study population had a high prevalence (32.4%) of goitre and a very low median urinary iodine level (14.5 ± 11.5 μg/L, n = 34). This corresponds to ‘severe iodine deficiency’ according to World Health Organization classifications. Freshwater fish was the most frequently consumed iodine source. Cassava, which is considered goitrogenic due to its thiocyanate content, was a staple food and was consumed daily by 43% of the participants. Most staple foods were locally produced. Women with goitre had significantly lower protein and energy intakes than did those without. The IDD prevalence found in this study was similar to the prevalence reported in remote Malaysian communities. Possible factors contributing to IDD in various other studies were dependence on locally produced foods from potentially iodine deficient soils, frequent consumption of cassava, and low intake of seafood. Although this Orang Asli community was close to Kuala Lumpur and not remote, these factors were reflected in the current study. This implies that ‘pockets’ of IDD in Peninsular Malaysia may be more widespread than previously thought and highlights the need for further investigation of IDD in Peninsular Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) usually decreases as heart rate (HR) increases over serial recordings, an autonomic phenomenon mediated by the baroreflex arc and attributed to recovery from stress associated with instrumentation for sphygmomanometry and initial cuff inflation. Despite clinical relevance of baroreflex pathophysiology and widespread availability of simultaneously recorded BP and HR, few epidemiologic studies have examined their relationship, its reliability or population distribution. We therefore investigated the reflex in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), hypothesizing that it is reliably measured and affected by major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Methods: We examined 15,701 U.S. adults aged 24-34 yr (mean = 28.4 yr; 49% female; 34% racial/ethnic minority) at the Add Health Wave IV (2008) in-home visit, which included 3 resting, seated SBPs and HRs recorded at 30 sec intervals. We used random-effects models to estimate SBP recovery (SBPR), HR recovery (HRR), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) as the decrease in SBP, increase in HR, and slope of the RR interval-SBP association across recordings. In a stratified, random subset of 100 participants examined twice, 1-2 wk (mean = 8.6 d) apart, we then used random-effects models to estimate their reliability as an intra-class correlation coefficient and 95% confidence interval (ICC, 95% CI) and compare it with HR variability, i.e. the standard deviation of and root mean square of successive differences in RR (SDRR; RMSSD). In the entire sample, we used logistic regression to estimate associations of the measures with CVD risk factors as odds ratios (ORs, 95% CIs). We adjusted estimation parameters for participant clustering, sampling probabilities, and attrition to facilitate inference. Results: The means (SDs) of initial SBP, HR and RR were 127 (15) mmHg, 73 (12) b/min and 841 (141) ms. For SBPR, HRR and BRS, they were -1.2 (4.4) mmHg, 0.6 (4.3) b/min and 0.2 (1.0) ms/mm Hg. The corresponding ICCs (95%CI) were 0.78 (0.70,0.86), 0.47 (0.32,0.63) and 0.63 (0.51,0.75), but only 0.22 (0.03,0.41) and 0.15 (-0.05,0.34) for SDRR and RMSSD. Relative to those without a given CVD risk factor, the OR (95%CI) for BRS < 50th percentile was higher among female, older (> 28 yr), obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), diabetic (HbA1c ≥ 6.5%), hypertensive (SBP/DBP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg), sedentary and currently smoking participants: 1.7 (1.5,1.8), 1.1 (1.0,1.2), 2.1 (1.9,2.3), 2.3 (1.7,3.0), 1.6 (1.4,1.7), 1.6 (1.4,1.8) and 1.2 (1.1,1.4). Similar associations were observed for SBPR and HRR. Conclusion: Simple, noninvasive measures of hemodynamic recovery and baroreflex sensitivity as estimated from brief recordings of resting, seated SBP and HR are reliable and consistently related to CVD risk factors in young U.S. adults, suggesting potential utility in subclinical assessment of CVD risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]