Reimagining physical activity for children following the systemic disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

Association between leisure sedentary behaviors and hypertension risk: A prospective cohort study and two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis in Europeans

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the potential causal relationship between domain-specific sedentary behaviors (including television watching, computer use, and driving) and hypertension risk in European populations.

METHODS

Initially, we conducted a multivariable Cox regression analysis to evaluate the associations between domain-specific sedentary behaviors and the risk of developing hypertension using data from 261,829 hypertension-free participants in the UK Biobank. To validate the findings of observational analysis, we employed two-sample univariable mendelian randomization (UVMR) analysis utilizing summary statistics from genome-wide association study conducted on European populations. We then performed multivariable mendelian randomization (MVMR) analysis to account for the influence of the risk factors for hypertension.

RESULTS

In this prospective observational analysis, individuals who spent >3 h per day watching television had significantly higher risk of developing hypertension (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.20-1.29, P < 0.001) compared to those who watched television for 0-1 h per day. The mendelian randomization analysis provided consistent evidence for a causal relationship between prolonged television watching time and hypertension risk (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.25-1.69, P < 0.001; all PMVMR < 0.05) in both UVMR and MVMR results. No significant associations were found between computer use, driving behaviors and the risk of hypertension in either the observational or UVMR/MVMR analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide evidence for a causal effect specifically linking higher television watching time to an increased risk of hypertension and indicate the potential effectiveness of reducing television viewing time as a preventive measure to mitigate the risk of hypertension.

Covid lockdowns and hospitalisations for oro-facial trauma among children in Australia and the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND/AIM

This retrospective study investigated the effect of lockdowns for Covid-19 on the rates of oro-facial trauma hospitalisations in children in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Hospitalisation data for children up to 19 years old for oro-facial trauma injuries (according to ICD-10-AM principal diagnosis codes) over 5 years were collected for Australian and UK children. The age-standard rate (ASR) for each age group was calculated per 100,000 population.

RESULTS

In the younger Australian children, there was no statistically significant change in the ASR of oro-facial trauma hospitalisations during the 'Covid year', compared to the average rate over the 3 years preceding. However, there was a significant decrease in the ASR of oro-facial trauma hospitalisations during the 'Covid year' in older Australian children (aged 10-19), and for all UK children, except for infants under one-year-old.

CONCLUSIONS

Reduction of the ASR of hospitalisations due to oro-facial trauma during the 'Covid year', and the implementation of lockdown measures in the two countries provides further evidence of the impact of physical activities and travel as contributing factors to oro-facial injuries in children. In addition to its role in reducing the spread of virus infections during the pandemic, the lockdown measures also resulted in a simultaneous decrease in trauma injuries.

Temporal trends in the physical fitness of Hong Kong children aged 6-12 years between 2003-04 and 2015-16

Low physical fitness in childhood is linked with poor health now and in later life. This study estimated temporal trends in physical fitness for Hong Kong children aged 6-12 years from 2003-04 to 2015-16. Objectively measured body size and physical fitness data for 27,513 children were obtained from four population-representative surveys of Hong Kong primary school students. Temporal trends in means were estimated by population-weighted linear regression. Trends in distributional characteristics were visually described. Overall, there was a small increase in mean height (effect size (ES) = 0.20 (95%CI: 0.13, 0.28)), with a negligible increase (ES < 0.2) in mean body mass. When adjusted for trends in age, gender, and body size, there was a small decline in sit-and-reach performance (ES = -0.43 (95%CI: -0.43, -0.42)), a small improvement in 9-min run/walk performance (9-to-12-year-olds, ES = 0.26 (95%CI: 0.26, 0.27)), with negligible declines in handgrip strength, 6-min run/walk (6-to 8-year-olds), and sit-ups performance. Temporal trends were not always uniform across the population distribution, with declines in run/walk, sit-ups, and sit-and-reach performance generally largest in children with low fitness. Increased national health promotion strategies that address culturally specific factors are encouraged to further improve the existing trends, especially for children with low fitness.

Physical fitness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results of annual national physical fitness surveillance among 16,647,699 Japanese children and adolescents between 2013 and 2021

BACKGROUND

Limited nationally representative evidence is available on temporal trends in physical fitness (PF) for children and adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The primary aim was to examine the temporal trends in PF for Japanese children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary aim was to estimate the concurrent trends in body size (measured as body mass and height) and movement behaviors (exercise, screen, and sleep time).

METHODS

Census PF data for children in Grade 5 (aged 10-11 years) and adolescents in Grade 8 (aged 13-14 years) were obtained for the years 2013-2021 from the National Survey of Physical Fitness, Athletic Performance, and Exercise Habits in Japan (n = 16,647,699). PF and body size were objectively measured, and movement behaviors were self-reported. Using sample-weighted linear regression, temporal trends in mean PF were calculated before the pandemic (2013-2019) and during the pandemic (2019-2021) with adjustments for age, sex, body size, and exercise time.

RESULTS

When adjusted for age, sex, body size, and exercise time, there were significant declines in PF during the pandemic, with the largest declines observed in 20-m shuttle run (standardized (Cohen's) effect size (ES) = -0.109 per annum (p.a.)) and sit-ups performance (ES = -0.133 p.a.). The magnitude of the declines in 20-m shuttle run and sit-ups performances were 18- and 15-fold larger, respectively, than the improvements seen before the pandemic (2013-2019), after adjusting for age, sex, body size, and exercise time. During the pandemic, both body mass and screen time significantly increased, and exercise time decreased.

CONCLUSION

Declines in 20-m shuttle run and sit-ups performances suggest corresponding declines in population health during the COVID-19 pandemic.