Consumer-Based Activity Trackers as a Tool for Physical Activity Monitoring in Epidemiological Studies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development and Usability Study

BackgroundConsumer-based physical activity trackers have increased in popularity. The widespread use of these devices and the long-term nature of the recorded data provides a valuable source of physical activity data for epidemiological research. The challenges include the large heterogeneity between activity tracker models in terms of available data types, the accuracy of recorded data, and how this data can be shared between different providers and third-party systems.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to develop a system to record data on physical activity from different providers of consumer-based activity trackers and to examine its usability as a tool for physical activity monitoring in epidemiological research. The longitudinal nature of the data and the concurrent pandemic outbreak allowed us to show how the system can be used for surveillance of physical activity levels before, during, and after a COVID-19 lockdown.MethodsWe developed a system (mSpider) for automatic recording of data on physical activity from participants wearing activity trackers from Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, Polar, Samsung, and Withings, as well as trackers storing data in Google Fit and Apple Health. To test the system throughout development, we recruited 35 volunteers to wear a provided activity tracker from early 2019 and onward. In addition, we recruited 113 participants with privately owned activity trackers worn before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Norway. We examined monthly changes in the number of steps, minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and activity energy expenditure between 2019 and 2020 using bar plots and two-sided paired sample t tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.ResultsCompared to March 2019, there was a significant reduction in mean step count and mean activity energy expenditure during the March 2020 lockdown period. The reduction in steps and activity energy expenditure was temporary, and the following monthly comparisons showed no significant change between 2019 and 2020. A small significant increase in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was observed for several monthly comparisons after the lockdown period and when comparing March-December 2019 with March-December 2020.ConclusionsmSpider is a working prototype currently able to record physical activity data from providers of consumer-based activity trackers. The system was successfully used to examine changes in physical activity levels during the COVID-19 period.     

Sexual Orientation,Sexual Arousal,and Finger Length Ratios in Women

Archives of Sexual Behavior - In general, women show physiological sexual arousal to both sexes. However, compared with heterosexual women, homosexual women are more aroused to their preferred sex,...     

Vitamin status after gastric bypass and lifestyle intervention: a comparative prospective study

BackgroundBariatric surgery can lead to vitamin deficiencies. We aimed to assess the changes in blood vitamin concentrations in patients who were taking predefined supplements after gastric bypass surgery.MethodsA total of 29 patients underwent gastric bypass and 24 unmatched controls underwent lifestyle intervention in a prospective, nonrandomized trial. The patients in the surgical group received multivitamin, iron, calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B₁₂ supplements. No supplements were prescribed to the lifestyle group. The median body mass index decreased from 46 to 32 kg/m² after surgery and from 40 to 39 kg/m² after lifestyle intervention.ResultsOf the 53 included patients, 50 completed the 1-year follow-up examination (94%). Compared with the lifestyle patients, the surgical patients had increased vitamin B₆, folic acid, vitamin B₁₂, and lipid-adjusted vitamin E (P <.02 for each) concentrations but decreased vitamin A concentrations (P <.01) during follow-up. No significant difference between the 2 groups was found for vitamin B₁, vitamin C, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Most surgical patients reported taking their supplements.ConclusionGastric bypass patients adhering to a set of dietary supplements had mostly stable or increased vitamin concentrations compared with both their baseline values and the changes in a nonsurgical control group.     

Job stress in young physicians with an emphasis on the work-home interface: a nine-year, nationwide and longitudinal study of its course and predictors

Although physicians are known to experience more stress than other workers, knowledge is lacking on the course of stress from a longitudinal perspective. This study explored the course of and contributors to, different dimensions of early career job-stress among physicians by means of a nationwide mail survey, with a particular emphasis on stress relating to the work-home interference. All physicians graduating from all four Norwegian universities in 1993 / 94 (N=631), responded during their final year of medical school (N=522), during their internship (N=402), in their 4th postgraduate year (N=422), and in their 10th postgraduate year (N=390). The mean observation period was 9.2 yr (SD=0.5). The main outcomes were job stress dimensions derived from an established job stress questionnaire (Cooper / Tyssen), with emphasis placed on dimensions of the work-home interference. Stress relating to the work-home interference increased during the observation period for both genders (repeated measures: beta=0.06, p<0.05), whereas stress relating to emotional pressure, time pressure, and fear of complaints and criticism, decreased. Stress relating to the work-home interference increased during their early career, mainly due to a lack of adaptive reduction in work hours and an increased number of children. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and lack of support from one's partner and colleagues, appeared to be predictive of this stress.     

Establishing Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Perioperative Outcome and Characteristics of the Learning Curve

Background  Bariatric surgery was established at several Norwegian hospitals in 2004. This study evaluates the perioperative outcome and the learning curves for two surgeons while introducing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). Methods  Morbidly obese patients undergoing primary LRYGB were included. Lengths of surgery and postoperative hospital stay, and 30-day rates of morbidity, reoperations, and readmissions were set as indicators of the learning curve. Learning effects were evaluated by graphical analyses and comparing the first and last 40 procedures for both surgeons. Results  The 292 included patients had a mean age of 40.0 ± 9.5 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 46.7 ± 5.3 kg/m². The mean length of surgery was 101 ± 55 min. Complications occurred in 43 patients (14.7%), with no conversions to open surgery in the primary procedure and no mortality. Reoperations were performed in 14 patients (4.8%), of which five patients required open surgery. The median length of stay was 3 days (range 1–77), and 19 patients (6.5%) were readmitted. High patient age, but not high BMI, was associated with an increased risk of complication. For both surgeons, lengths of surgery and hospital stay were significantly reduced (p < 0.001), leveling out after 100 procedures. Reductions in the rates of morbidity, reoperations and readmissions were not found. Conclusion  LRYGB was introduced with an acceptable morbidity rate and no mortality. Only the length of surgery and postoperative hospital stay were suitable indicators of a learning curve, which comprised about 100 cases.     

Development of a clipped single-bag with bicarbonate replacement fluid to ensure proper mixing

A clipped single-bag for bicarbonate replacement fluid was developed to ensure proper mixing before administering to the patient. Nonmixture can cause imbalances of electrolytes and pH, which is a key problem for the current double-bag type bicarbonate replacement fluid sets. To resolve this problem, this single bag properly mixes the solutions before use. The new bag consists of a clip that is placed in the middle to keep the two solutions separated and sealed. When the caregiver is ready to administer treatment, the bag is simply unfolded and the clip automatically detaches, releasing the fluids. Thereby, the bicarbonate fluids are effectively mixed. An optimal clip size with an outer diameter of 16 mm and thickness of 2 mm was determined using compression tests and drop tests. This bag may be a safer and more effective way to provide proper replacement fluid supply for both hemofiltration and hemodiafiltration.