International Fitness Scale—IFIS: Validity and association with health-related quality of life in pregnant women

This study aimed (a) to examine the construct validity of the International Fitness Scale (IFIS) to discriminate between different objectively measured physical fitness levels in pregnant women and (b) to assess the extent to which IFIS is able to discriminate between pregnant women with different levels of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A total of 159 pregnant women were involved in the GESTAtion and FITness project: 106 pregnant women (mean age 32.7, SD 4.4 years) were included. Self-reported physical fitness—that is, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, and overall fitness—was assessed with the IFIS. Physical fitness was objectively measured using the Bruce test, the handgrip strength test and the back-scratch test. The HRQoL was assessed with the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Higher self-reported physical fitness measured with IFIS was associated with higher objectively measured physical fitness (P < .05). There was a linear association so that higher self-reported physical fitness (ie, IFIS; regardless of the fitness component) was related to greater General Health dimension scores (P < .05). Moreover, higher self-reported physical fitness (all components except muscular strength) was associated with better Physical Functioning, lower Bodily Pain and higher Vitality scores (ie, SF-36 components). This linear trend was not seen for objectively measured physical fitness. The results of this study suggest that IFIS might be a useful tool for identifying pregnant women with low or very low physical fitness and with low quality of life health-related. Further research should elucidate whether IFIS can identify women with pregnancy complications before it can be implemented in clinical practice.     

Association of Patterns of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Bouts With Pain,Physical Fatigue,and Disease Severity in Women With Fibromyalgia: the al-Ándalus Project

ObjectivesTo examine the associations of non-bouted moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and patterns of MVPA in bouts ≥10 minutes with pain, physical fatigue, and disease severity in women with fibromyalgia, and test whether these associations are independent of sedentary time (ST) and physical fitness (PF).DesignCross-sectional study carried out from November 2011 to January 2013.SettingUniversity facilities and fibromyalgia associations.ParticipantsWomen with fibromyalgia (N=439; 51.3±7.6y).InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresST and MVPA were measured with triaxial accelerometry, and PF with the Senior Fitness test battery. We assessed pain, physical fatigue and disease severity with diverse questionnaires.ResultsTotal time in non-bouted MVPA only was independently associated with lower physical fatigue (B=-0.012; P=.010) and disease severity (B=-0.068; P=.007) in women with fibromyalgia, regardless of PF but not of ST. Patterns of bouted MVPA were overall associated with symptoms independently of ST or PF. The strongest regressor was the maximum time in MVPA bout (min/bout), which was consistently and independently associated with pain, physical fatigue and disease severity after controlling for ST or PF (all, P≤.002). Patients meeting bouted physical activity guidelines displayed lower disease severity than those not meeting guidelines (bouted or non-bouted) and those meeting non-bouted physical activity guidelines (all, P≤.008).ConclusionsPatterns of MVPA performed in bouts ≥10 minutes were overall consistently and independently associated with core symptoms (pain and fatigue) in fibromyalgia and the overall disease severity, regardless of ST or PF. The results suggest that longer bouts of continuous MVPA are associated with better symptoms profile in this population, which needs to be corroborated in longitudinal research.     

Reactivation of Polyomavirus hominis 1 (BKV) during pregnancy and the risk of mother-to-child transmission

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is associated with down-regulation of immune responses of the mother. This might lead to reactivation and vertical transmission of latent viral infections such as BK virus (BKV). OBJECTIVES: To determine the presence of BKV in the urine of pregnant women and in cord blood at delivery. STUDY DESIGN: We examined urines from 52 pregnant women and 51 cord blood samples for BKV by real-time SYBR green PCR. RESULTS: BKV DNA was found in the urine of 18 (34.6%) pregnant women. No BKV DNA was detected by SYBR green PCR in the cord blood specimens. CONCLUSIONS: BKV reactivation is common during pregnancy but this is not associated with BKV in cord blood.     

The discordance between subjectively and objectively measured physical function in women with fibromyalgia: association with catastrophizing and self-efficacy cognitions. The al-Ándalus project

Purpose: People with fibromyalgia experience a disagreement between patient-reported (i.e., subjective) and performance-based (i.e., objective) status. This study aimed to (i) corroborate the discordance between subjectively and objectively measured physical function and (ii) examine whether catastrophizing (worrying, pain magnifying, and helpless cognitions) and self-efficacy (believing capable to manage pain) are independently associated with this discordance.

Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 405 women with fibromyalgia and 193 age-matched female controls. Participants completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Chronic Pain Self-efficacy Scale, and physical functioning subscales of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Short Form-36 (SF-36) health survey. Objective physical function was measured with the Senior Fitness Test battery. Subjective and objective physical functions were expressed as deviation from the general population in standard deviation (SD) units using means and SD of the control group.

Results: In fibromyalgia, subjective physical function was worse than objective physical function (p?Conclusions: Subjective physical function is more impaired than objective physical function in fibromyalgia, yet both are markedly impaired. Catastrophizing cognitions are associated with this discordance. In particular, high catastrophizing may promote a feeling of reduced ability to do meaningful activities of daily living (i.e., restrictions) that people with fibromyalgia are actually able to. Therefore, catastrophizing should be assessed and potentially targeted when focusing on improving physical function in fibromyalgia.

• Implications for rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation should focus on physical exercise programs to help women with fibromyalgia to improve their reduced physical function.

• In rehabilitation settings, physical function of people with fibromyalgia should be evaluated by both subjective and objective assessments to fully understand physical functioning and to test the existence of discordance between both assessments.

• In case of a large discordance between subjective and objective physical function, a physical exercise program might be better complemented with cognitive management techniques to reduce catastrophizing and subjective physical dysfunction.

• When people with fibromyalgia experience high levels of catastrophizing, subjective assessments seem to be poor indicators of physical function.

     

Physical activity,sedentary behaviour,physical fitness,and cognitive performance in women with fibromyalgia who engage in reproductive and productive work: the al-Ándalus project

Clinical Rheumatology - Reproductive labour refers to activities and tasks directed at caregiving and domestic roles, such as cleaning, cooking, and childcare. Productive labour refers to...     

Influence of Dietary Habits and Mediterranean Diet Adherence on Sleep Quality during Pregnancy. The GESTAFIT Project

We examined the association of the dietary habits and the Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence with sleep quality during pregnancy. A food frequency questionnaire and the Mediterranean Food Pattern were employed to assess dietary habits and MD adherence, respectively. Sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score (n = 150; mean age 32.9 ± 4.6 years). A higher consumption of fruits was associated with better sleep quality at the 16th gestational week (g.w.; p < 0.05). A greater olive oil consumption and a higher MD adherence were associated with better sleep quality at the 16th and 34th g.w. (all, p < 0.05). Contrarily, a higher red meat and subproducts consumption was associated with worse sleep quality at the 34th g.w. (p < 0.05). The group with the highest adherence to the MD (Tertile 3) showed better sleep quality than the group with the lowest adherence (Tertile 1) at the 16th and 34th g.w. (both, p < 0.05). A higher adherence to the MD, a greater intake of fruits and olive oil and a lower intake of red meat and subproducts were associated with better sleep quality along the pregnancy course, especially among sedentary women.