The physician's role in prescribing physical activity for the prevention and treatment of essential hypertension

High Blood Pressure and Its Associated Factors Among Aksum University Students, Northern Ethiopia, 2019: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives

This study aimed to assess the burden of high blood pressure and its associated factors among students at Aksum University.

Methods

A total of 240 participants were included; participants were selected through simple random sampling from May 2019 to July 2019. Logistic regression analysis was performed, with statistical significance set at a p-value <0.05 and a 95% confidence level.

Results

This study found that 17.9% of the participants had high blood pressure, with higher rates observed in males (62.79%) than in females (37.21%). Several factors were identified as associated with high blood pressure, including a family history of high blood pressure [AOR 1.72, 95% CI (1. 75-4.04)], regular physical exercise [AOR 0.64, 95% CI (0.30-0.94)], alcohol consumption [AOR 2.16, 95% CI (1.07-4.62)], tobacco smoking [AOR 5.46, 95% CI (1.98-15.07)], and central obesity [AOR 2.72, 95% CI (1.12-6.58)].

Conclusion

This study reveals that one out of six students had high blood pressure. Factors such as a family history of high blood pressure, physical inactivity, tobacco smoking, and central obesity were associated with this condition.

Hiking: A Low-Cost, Accessible Intervention to Promote Health Benefits

Research has connected sedentary lifestyles with numerous negative health outcomes, including a significant increased risk for mortality. Many health care professionals seek ways to help clients meet physical activity guidelines recommended by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the World Health Organization, and the American College of Sports Medicine in order to promote active lifestyles and improve overall wellness. Hiking is a cost-effective intervention that encourages people to be physically active while spending time in nature. Time in nature can lead to health benefits through contact with the natural elements, participation in physical activity, restoration of mental and emotional health, and time with social contacts. Benefits may be immediate, such as decreased blood pressure, decreased stress levels, enhanced immune system functioning, and restored attention, or transpire over time, such as weight loss, decreased depression, and overall wellness. Health care providers are ideally positioned to recommend and prescribe hiking to clients. Federal, state, and local natural resource agencies are beginning to partner with health care professionals to promote outdoor nature-related activities. Examples of successful doctor and other health care practitioner partnership programs are described, along with tips for getting started.

Gender Differences in Heart Rate Variability Among Individuals Undergoing Regular Resistance Training Preliminary observations

OBJECTIVES

Frequency-domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is an effective tool to evaluate autonomic balance. This study aimed to investigate gender differences in HRV among individuals undergoing regular resistance training.

METHODS

This preliminary cross-sectional study was conducted from April to September 2016 in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. The low-frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF) and LF/HF ratio components of HRV spectral analysis were analysed among 22 men and 27 women undergoing regular resistance training.

RESULTS

Among the male participants, the LF component was significantly increased compared to females in both the supine (1,171 ± 192 versus 545 ± 74 ms²; P = 0.0067) and upright (1,824 ± 260 versus 738 ± 133; P = 0.0011) positions. The LF/HF ratio was also significantly increased in both positions among male participants (P <0.0500 each).

CONCLUSION

These preliminary data suggest a possible gender difference in the HRV of individuals undergoing resistance training.

The evaluation of physical activity for community-dwelling patients with hypertension

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to evaluate the proportion of Chinese patients with hypertension who meet the Chinese Hypertension Management Guideline recommendations for weekly physical activity and to determine possible associated factors that impact meeting the weekly physical activity recommendation.

BACKGROUND

Accurate evaluation of physical activity levels for hypertensive patients is important to determine patients' health outcomes and intervention measures. However, most of the evidence on the prevalence of physical activity comes from developed countries; therefore, studies from developing countries are needed.

DESIGN

Across-sectional design was adopted for the study.

METHODS

The participants were recruited using a convenience sampling method from three healthcare community centres in Guangzhou, southern China. The data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Ordinal logistic regression was used to test factors associated with meeting the weekly physical activity recommendation.

RESULTS

Two hundred and seventy-six (58.6%) hypertensive patients in our study did insufficient physical activity (<150 min/week). One hundred thirty-four (31.3%) patients achieved the weekly physical activity recommendation (≥150 min/week), and 52 (10.1%) met the recommendation for physical activity for additional health benefits (≥300 min/week). In the adjusted ordinal logistic regression analyses, patients over 60 years of age (OR = 1.35, p < .001), who were unemployed (OR = 1.24, p = .036), had lower blood pressure levels (OR = 0.88, p = .019) and no hypertension-related complications (OR = 1.18, p = .021), and regarded self-rated health as good or excellent (OR = 2.37, p = .018), had a higher likelihood of meeting the weekly physical activity recommendation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that the number of Chinese hypertensive patients meeting the weekly physical activity recommendation is suboptimal. Age, employment status, blood pressure, self-rated health and complications related to hypertension were associated with meeting the weekly physical activity recommendation.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The findings implied that hypertensive patients who did insufficient physical activity were subgroups that needed specific instructions in physical activity and motivation to take part in physical activity. Nurses should consider providing counselling and supervision to these patients.

Dietary advanced glycation end products and their role in health and disease

Over the past 2 decades there has been increasing evidence supporting an important contribution from food-derived advanced glycation end products (AGEs) to the body pool of AGEs and therefore increased oxidative stress and inflammation, processes that play a major role in the causation of chronic diseases. A 3-d symposium (1st Latin American Symposium of AGEs) to discuss this subject took place in Guanajuato, Mexico, on 1-3 October 2014 with the participation of researchers from several countries. This review is a summary of the different presentations and subjects discussed, and it is divided into 4 sections. The first section deals with current general knowledge about AGEs. The second section dwells on mechanisms of action of AGEs, with special emphasis on the receptor for advanced glycation end products and the potential role of AGEs in neurodegenerative diseases. The third section discusses different approaches to decrease the AGE burden. The last section discusses current methodologic problems with measurement of AGEs in different samples. The subject under discussion is complex and extensive and cannot be completely covered in a short review. Therefore, some areas of interest have been left out because of space. However, we hope this review illustrates currently known facts about dietary AGEs as well as pointing out areas that require further research.

Primary Care Providers' Recommendations for Hypertension Prevention, DocStyles Survey, 2012

BACKGROUND

Healthy behaviors, including maintaining an ideal body weight, eating a healthy diet, being physically active, limiting alcohol intake, and not smoking, can help prevent hypertension. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of recommending these behaviors to patients by primary care providers (PCPs) and to assess what PCP characteristics, if any, were associated with making the recommendations.

METHODS

DocStyles 2012, a Web-based panel survey, was used to assess PCPs' demographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, practice setting, and prevalence of making selected recommendations to prevent hypertension. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of making all 6 recommendations, by demographic, professional, or personal health behavior characteristics.

RESULTS

Overall, 1253 PCPs responded to the survey (537 family physicians, 464 internists, and 252 nurse practitioners). To prevent hypertension, 89.4% recommended a healthy diet, 89.9% recommended lower salt intake, 90.3% recommended maintaining a healthy weight, 69.4% recommended limiting alcohol intake, 95.1% recommended being physically active, and 90.4% recommended smoking cessation for their patients who smoked. More than half (56.1%) of PCPs recommended all 6 healthy behaviors. PCPs' demographic characteristics and practice setting were not associated with recommending all 6. PCPs who reported participating in regular physical activity (odds ratio [OR] 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-2.67) and eating healthy diet (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.11-2.56) were more likely to offer all 6 healthy behavior recommendations than those without these behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Most PCPs recommended healthy behaviors to their adult patients to prevent hypertension. PCPs' own healthy behaviors were associated with their recommendations. Preventing hypertension is a multifactorial effort, and in the clinical environment, PCPs have frequent opportunities to model and promote healthy lifestyles to their patients.