Low back pain and its relationship to back strength and physical activity in children

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the occurrence of low back pain and its relationship to back strength and physical activity in children. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The study included 53 boys and 43 girls aged 10 to 19 years from a group of 116 children who had undergone isometric strength testing 4 years previously. No intervention was performed. Each child was asked five questions concerning low back pain. A questionnaire to quantify participation in athletic activities and manual labor was used as the basis for calculation of each child's activity level. Isometric back flexor and extensor strength were measured with the same method used 4 years previously. Statistical analyses were performed with appropriate correction for confounding factors. RESULTS: The frequency of low back pain and the relationship between low back pain and age, between low back pain and back strength, and between low back pain and physical activity were determined. There was a history of low back pain in 51%, and the frequency of low back pain in the past year was 35%. Eight percent of the children had been limited by low back pain, and 7% had seen a doctor for the pain. The first incident of low back pain occurred at a mean age of 12.3 years. The frequencies of a history of low back pain and of low back pain in the past year increased significantly with age (p = 0.02 and 0.01 respectively). Increased physical activity was significantly associated with a history of low back pain (p = 0.03), and increased back flexor strength was significantly associated with a history of low back pain and of low back pain in the past year (p = 0.03 and 0.008, respectively). The rate of low back flexor or strength over 4 years had a significantly positive association with the occurrence of low back pain in the past year (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Low back pain is common in children, and, in contrast to adults, low back pain in these children was more common with increased physical activity and stronger back flexors. We believe the main causes of low back pain in children are musculotendinous strains and ligamentous sprains.     

The effect of one night's sleep deprivation on temperature, mood, and physical performance in subjects with different amounts of habitual physical activity

Eleven healthy males were studied twice. On one occasion (control, C), they slept (night 1) and then underwent a battery of tests at 4 h intervals from 06:00 day 1 to 02:00 day 2; then, after a normal sleep (night 2), they were tested from 10:00 to 22:00 on day 2. On the second occasion (sleep deprivation, SD), the subjects remained awake during night 1. Each battery of tests consisted of measurements of tympanic membrane temperature, profile of mood states (POMS), muscle strength, self-chosen work rate (SCWR), perceived exertion, and heart rate (HR) while exercising on a stationary cycle ergometer. Subjects also kept a diary of their activities during the two days and answered a questionnaire about their habitual physical activity. Results showed a significant negative effect of sleep deprivation on most mood states on day 1, but no effect on the other variables. By day 2, mood had tended to recover, though muscle strength tended to be worse in both control and sleep-deprivation experiments. There was also a more general tendency for negative effects to be present at the end of day 1 (02:00) or at the beginning of day 2 (10:00). There was limited support for the view that subjects who were habitually more active showed less negative effects after sleep deprivation and responded less adversely to the poor sleep achieved on the university premises (night 2). These results stress the considerable interindividual variation in the responses to sleep loss and, therefore, the difficulty associated with giving general advice to individuals about work or training capability after sleep loss.     

Reliability and validity of three physical activity questionnaires in Flemish males

Many B cell precursors die while differentiating in mouse bone marrow. To ascertain the mechanisms involved in this process, populations of B lineage cells and their tissue localization were analyzed in bone marrow of transgenic mice overexpressing the apoptosis inhibitor, Bcl-2. Immunofluorescence labeling and mitotic arrest were used to quantitate the number and proliferative activity of mu- pro-B cells (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT]+B220-, TdT+B220+, and TdT-B220+); pre-B cells (cmu+); and B cells (smu+). Mature B cells (IgM+IgD+) were increased 16- to 20-fold. In addition, immature B lymphocytes (IgM+IgD-/low), representing newly formed cells, were increased three- to sixfold, whereas pre-B cells and late pro-B cells were increased 30 to 60% in production rate. Earlier pro-B cells expressing TdT were unaffected. In spleen, both mature and immature B cells were greatly increased, but cells of precursor phenotype were few and TdT+ cells were absent. The in vivo location of B cells was examined by autoradiography using light and electron microscopy after intravenous injection of 125I-labeled antibodies. B lineage cells (B220+) were increased throughout bone marrow, often within dilated venous sinusoids, particularly in subosteal regions. Many intravascular and perisinusoidal cells were IgDhigh mature B lymphocytes. In contrast, many other IgM+ and IgDlow immature B lymphocytes clustered extravascularly around the central venous sinus. Plasma cells with distended endoplasmic reticulum were numerous. These findings provide evidence that, in addition to expanding the recirculating pool of B cells entering bone marrow from the blood stream, high levels of Bcl-2 can inhibit some of the apoptosis occurring during B cell differentiation, thereby expanding populations of B lymphopoietic precursor cells within the bone marrow parenchyma.     

The relationship between problem solving and activity level in the elderly

Research stemming from disengagement and activity theory has recently focused on individual differences in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. A specific intervening variable which has been hypothesized to be related to social activity level is interpersonal cognitive problem solving skills (ICPS). The present study identified two groups of elderly veterans on the basis of their ICPS skills. Those who generated a high number of solutions to interpersonal problems reported significantly more time spent in social and isolated goal-directed tasks than the group generating fewer solutions when age, educational level, and length of institutionalization had been covaried. The results suggest the potential usefulness of the ICPS approach as a means of identifying socially active individuals and as an intervention or training technique for less able institutionalized residents.     

Smoking status, dietary intake, and physical activity in a sample of working adults.

The present study examined differences in dietary intake and physical activity by smoking status in a sample of 3,250 working adults. Cross-sectionally, current smokers consumed alcohol, dairy products, meat, eggs, and french fries more frequently, and engaged in leisure time physical activity less frequently, than former or never smokers. Over 2 years, current smokers increased their intake of meat, soft drinks, eggs, and total calories from high fat and high calorie foods compared to never or former smokers. Smokers who quit during the 2-year observation period increased their frequency of sweets consumption. Dietary and physical activity variables appear to be weak predictors of postcessation weight change. Implications for studies of chronic disease etiology and mechanisms of postcessation weight gain are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between level of disability, psychological problems, social activity, and social networks.

Objective: To test a theoretical model on the relationship between level of disability, psychological problems, social activity, and social networks. Study Design: A repeated cross-sectional study included in 2 representative studies in the general population in Norway. Structural equation modeling was applied to test different models. Results: Activity limitations contribute to the prediction of psychological problems and level of social activity over time, whereas the reverse effects were not demonstrated. However, cross-sectional associations between psychosocial variables and activity limitations were found. Conclusions: The study confirms that activity limitations predict level of psychosocial problems. Although the reverse longitudinal effect from psychosocial problems on activity limitations was not demonstrated, short-term effects cannot be ruled out with the current study design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of style difficulty, practice, and ability to efficiency of reading and to retention.

Two groups of Ss, one of high and one of low mechanical ability, read a technical passage before an eye-movement camera. An "easy" style and a "hard" style passage were used, and Ss read the passage once or three times. Reading efficiency measures collected were words read per second and per fixation; retention measures were scores on modified recall and word recognition tests. The high ability group scored better on all measures than the low ability group; three readings yielded superior scores on the retention measures; and the "easy" style gave higher scores on the reading efficiency and modified recall measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations of heart rate level to motor activity and food deprivation in the rat.

Measured heart rate, an activity index, and duration of grooming and rearing episodes in 10 male hooded rats which leverpressed under either continuous or VI schedules of reinforcement while undergoing increasing levels of food deprivation. Results show that heart rate level did not change with increasing deprivation and was not influenced by activity levels or behavior patterns (e.g., rearing or grooming). Extinction produced a decrease in heart rate level, though behavior became more invigorated. Observations of phasic heart rate and activity curves associated with instrumental lever responses are also presented. Data are discussed in relation to studies showing heart rate-deprivation functions and heart rate-movement associations. (French summary) (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The real relationship in psychotherapy: Relationships to adult attachments, working alliance, transference, and therapy outcome.

The purpose of this study was to understand how the real relationship (RR) relates to important process and outcome variables from both the clients’ and therapists’ perspectives. Using a sample of 31 therapist/client dyads at a university counseling center, the authors examined the RR at the 3rd session of therapy and at termination. The results revealed that client adult attachment avoidance was negatively correlated with client RR, while client adult attachment anxiety was uncorrelated. Therapists’ ratings of negative transference were negatively correlated with therapist-rated RR and were uncorrelated with client-rated RR. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses were conducted to predict postintervention outcome from client and therapist perceptions of the RR. Therapists’ ratings of the RR accounted for a significant amount of variance in client posttreatment symptoms while controlling pretreatment symptoms. Client-rated RR total scores and client and therapist 3rd-session alliance scores were not significant predictors of postsymptom ratings. Implications of the usefulness of measuring the RR in psychotherapy are discussed, as are recommendations for future study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging, limitation in physical strength and effects of exercise

HLA typing was performed on 384 individuals of an isolated population of 1,500 people with a familial aggregate of lymphoma and immunodeficiency cases. Eighty-five % of the total population were descendants of the founding couple. First cousin marriages were common. There was a three-fold or higher increase of the following haplotypes as compared to the frequencies in Sheffield: HLA-A28,Bw35, HLA-A28, B18, HLA-A10, B18, HLA-A2, B18,HLA-A11, Bw40 and HLA-A11, B7. The frequency of HLA-A1, B8 was low (5.4%). The most common genotype was HLA-A2, B12/A2, B12 followed by HLA-A2, B12/A28, Bw35. We found 20 HLA homozygous individuals, of these 15 were HLA-A2, b12/a2, b12. There were two possible HLA cross-overs which may be confirmed and three postulated cross-overs which can never be confirmed as one or both parents of the individuals in question are deceased. Some of the haplotypes could be traced back to the first, second and third generations, i.e. to the first half of the nineteenth century. No single haplotype or antigen was shared by the patients.     

Total hydroxyproline in urine of 4 to 6 year-old children--an investigation on its relationship to growth and nutrition

We analysed over a period of 30-32 days the daily total hydroxyproline and creatinine excretine in urine from 9 healthy, normally fed 4 to 6 year-old children (2 girls, 7 boys). The average urinary hydroxyproline excretion was 45.6 mg/24 hr, with a coefficient of variation of 25.6%. Urinary hydroxyproline for individual children showed distinct differences from day to day, which were independent of urine volume. There were significant differences between the mean values for urine hydroxyproline in individual children, which were independent of age. The average creatinine in urine was 346/24 hr with a coefficient of variation of 17.7%. The hydroxyproline-index did not define the nutritional state of these normally developed children on a normal diet. Dietary hydroxyproline contributed 7.4% to the total urinary hydroxyproline in our investigation. There was a close correlation between urine hydroxyproline excretion and growth velocity in each child.     

Fatigue in HIV illness: relationship to depression, physical limitations, and disability

Several filters specific for respiratory function tests have been on the market for several years. Recommended by the manufacturers to avoid contaminating the equipment and thus improve patient safety, these filters require a considerable financial investment. We studied the passage of diluted blood into artificial saliva in a patient model simulating inspiration tests and rapid forced expiration to assess the retention capacity of three filters used for respiratory function tests: Multi SPIRO MI-90016 (MultiSPIRO), PF 30S (Pall Biomedical) and Spirobac (Dar. S.p.A). The mean percentage of passage was 1.48% through the MI-90016 filter, 57.15% through the PF 30 S filter and 70.45% through the Spirobac filter. These findings provide further elements for choosing filters for respiratory function tests. Indeed, despite the manufacturers' commercial arguments, the technical documents provided do not give necessary information on the filtering capacity of the filters on the market. We have observed that two out of the three filters tested do no meet the standards expected by clinicians.     

Manipulation of working memory information is impaired in Parkinson's disease and related to working memory capacity.

It has been suggested that in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), difficulties in the manipulation of information, which result in problems in executive tasks, are related to a reduction of working memory capacity (J. D. E. Gabrieli, J. Singh, G. T. Stebbins, & C. G. Goetz, 1996). The present study selectively varied the manipulation demand irrespective of the maintenance requirement. In a group of 14 PD patients, performance declined overproportionally with the increasing task demand and was significantly correlated with a measure of working memory capacity. These results suggest that the complexity of working memory processing may decisively contribute to the exhaustion of resources in PD patients. Increasing complexity may either affect their manipulation ability directly or impede the management of inhibitory control requirements inherent to the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between serum lipids, apolipoproteins level and bile lipids level, chemical type of stone

To pick up serum high risk lithogenic factors predisposing one to gallstone formation and protective factors against gallstone formation in gallbladder. We compared serum lipid and apolipoprotein level of patients with gallbladder stone (stone group) with that of patients without gallbladder stone (control group). The correlation between serum lipid, apolipoprotein level and bile lipid level, cholesterol saturated index (CSI), characteristics of lipidemia in different kinds of gallbladder stones were studied. The results showed that the increase of serum Apo A1, C2 and E level in the stone group was more significant than in the control group. But there was no statistical significance in TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, Apo A2, B, C3 level between the stone and control groups. These results suggested that serum apolipoproteins perhaps are more sensitive parameters than serum lipids in distinguishing patients with stones from those without stones. There were different profiles of serum lipid and apolipoproteins in different chemical types of gallbladder stones. Increased level in serum LDL-C, Apo B and ratio of LDL-C/HDL-C were characterized by an index for cholesterol stone, otherwise that in serum TG and Apo C2 an index for pigment stones. There was a positive correlation between serum total cholesterol (TC) or Apo B, C2, C3 and cholesterol amount or CSI in gallbladder bile. Therefore, TC, Apo B, C2, C3 could be considered as high risk lithogenic factors. A positive correlation existed between serum HDL-C and lecithin in gallbladder or common bile duct (CBD) bile as well as between HDL-C and bile acids in CBD bile. Thus, HDL-C might be a protective factor against gallstone formation in gallbladder.     

Acceptance and rejection of arguments in relation to attitude strength, critical ability, and intolerance of inconsistency.

165 male students judged the logical validity of 24 religious syllogisms (12 proreligion and 12 antireligion) and 16 neutral syllogisms which were randomly interspersed. A Syllogism Evaluation score was defined as the number of proreligion syllogisms marked sound + the number of antireligious syllogisms marked unsound. A Critical Ability score was defined as the number of neutral syllogisms correctly answered. Subsequently, Ss' responses to the conclusions of the religious syllogisms provided a measure of proreligious attitude, and Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale and Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity Test were assumed to provide measures of intolerance of inconsistency. Results show that, for Ss with a proreligious attitude (N = 131), Syllogism Evaluation scores are positively correlated with strength of proreligious attitude (p     

The relationship of childhood physical and sexual abuse to adult illness behavior

A sample of 275 undergraduate subjects reported (i) their history of sexual and physical abuse in childhood and (ii) their health care utilization, somatization, and hypochondriasis as an adult. Physical and sexual abuse were recalled by largely separate groups, physical abuse predominating in males and sexual abuse in females. Both types of abuse were followed by a greater number of hospital admissions and surgical procedures in adulthood. Although sexual, and especially physical, abuse were associated with recall of emotionally disturbed parenting, this could not explain their influence on health care utilization because this was unrelated to parenting. Similarly, although abuse was followed by greater somatization and hypochondriasis, these also were unrelated to health care utilization. Physical and sexual abuse in childhood are risk factors, independent of their association with poor parenting, in the development of separate aspects of adult illness behavior.