Effect of Cognitive Reserve on the Association of Vascular Brain Injury With Cognition: Analysis of the PURE and CAHHM Studies

Objective:To determine whether cognitive reserve attenuates the association of vascular brain injury with cognition.Methods:Cross-sectional data were analyzed from two harmonized studies: the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds (CAHHM) and the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Markers of cognitive reserve were education, involvement in social activities, marital status, height, and leisure physical activity, which were combined into a composite score. Vascular brain injury was defined asnon-lacunar brain infarcts or high white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden on MRI. Cognition was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Tool (MoCA) and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST).Results:There were 10,450 participants age 35-81. Mean age was 58.8 years (range 35 to 81) and 55.8% were female. Education, moderate leisure physical activity, being in a marital partnership, being taller, and participating in social groups were each independently associated with higher cognition, as was the composite cognitive reserve score. Vascular brain injury was associated with lower cognition (beta-0.35 [95% CI -0.53 to -0.17] for MoCA and beta -2.19 [95% CI-3.22 to -1.15] for DSST)-but the association was not modified by the composite cognitive reserve variable (interaction p=0.59 for MoCA and p=0.72 for DSST).Conclusions:Both vascular brain injury and markers of cognitive reserve are associated with cognition. However, the effects were independent such that the adverse effects of covert vascular brain injury were not attenuated by higher cognitive reserve. To improve cognitive brain health, interventions to both prevent cerebrovascular disease and promote positive lifestyles are needed.

SWIMMING AS A LEISURE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE 2020-2021 PANDEMIC COVID-19 IN CLUJ-NAPOCA

Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the global community, leading to restrictive measures in all areas of activity, including sports. Starting with March 2020, most physical activities have ceased, due to the establishment of the state of emergency in Romania. Swimmers were restricted from accessing their main training facilities and were no longer allowed access to the pools. After a more sedentary period, in which each of us tried to adapt to the existing situation, the need to be involved in sports, the need for movement, and the need for socialization was growing. Thus, the instructors tried to find out alternatives to continue athletes training, so they do not completely lose their physical fitness. Some managed to continue their training in the water, at other pools, others organized workouts outside the pool, maintaining their physical condition at an optimal level. In fewer cases, coaches continued training with athletes online. The purpose of this study was to discover the training strategies applied by swimming coaches during the pandemic, during the State of emergency and the Alert state, in Cluj-Napoca. The results of our study can be used, in the future, by students, teachers and instructors to better reorganize their physical activities, especially swimming, when a special situation arises again.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THIS PLAN

ABSTRACT: Introduction The concept of free time has evolved over the centuries according to various socially organized models. Thus, it was found that mankind has always enjoyed a certain type of leisure organization, various forms and activities of organization. Objective The study aims to identify a concept of physical education for free time, stimulating the desire to exercise, developing the spirit of initiative, ensuring continuity in the practice of motor activities. Methods Major benefits of web-based questionnaires and surveys are that they do not require the administration of materials in person, are accessible world-wide, and are therefore available cross-culturally. Results A majority of the subjects (68.5%) view a healthy diet as “very important” for a sport point of view. If we were to couple this with the “important” answer to this question we would find that a vast majority (94.4%) view diet and nutrition as a key component of physical activity. Conclusions Leisure physical activity helps for a healthy lifestyle, regardless of the profession you practice. Through this paper we intend to create a guide in the practice of physical leisure activities and to help in their practice. Nevertheless, many different types of exercise have been shown to be beneficial, including aerobic training, resistance or strength training, walking, hopping, swimming, aquatic exercise, as well as exercises to improve flexibility and balance for a healthy lifestyle.

Impact of local and international sponsors on athletics race participants

Running is a popular and convenient leisure physical activity. The most popular distance is the 5 km that accumulated 8.9 million records in 2018. Investments by companies in sponsorship around the world exceeded $ 65 billion (IEG, 2018). Increasing brand awareness is one of the main goals for companies to get involved in sponsorships. Most of the research on sponsorship has not been done from the participation-based sport perspective. Some results obtained remain contradictory and the dependency between the sponsor's brand recognition rate and local and international sponsors. The purpose of the study was (i) to determine the brand recognition rates of sponsors, ii) the existence of differences between the recognition rate of real sponsors and false sponsors, and; iii) the existence of differences between the recognition rate of local sponsors and the recognition rate of international sponsors between the runners of the Scalabis Night Race. A sample of 736 runners from one of Portugal's most popular athletic races completed a questionnaire. A Chi-square Test and T-Test was carried out to evaluate the differences between the groups of runners. The average recognition rate for sponsors was 76.5%. The brands of the true sponsors in all product categories showed higher recognition rates when compared to the recognition rates of the false sponsors, these differences being statistically significant. Relevant results were found expressed by the high recognition rates of local brands (Bijou, Taberna Quinzena and WShopping), these differences being statistically significant, despite the fact that most of the runners have a national origin. The sponsorship of the athletics race mass participation-based sport is an impressive tool to raise sponsors brand awareness.

Mahjong Playing and Leisure Physical Activity Alleviate Cognitive Symptoms in Older Community Residents

Leisure activities, particularly physically and cognitively stimulating leisure activities, mitigate cognitive decline. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between mahjong playing, leisure physical activity, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Older adults with and without MCI were recruited (n = 489, healthy group; and n = 187, MCI group). The regression results showed that years of mahjong playing (odds ratio = 0.595, 95% confidence interval [0.376, 0.961], p = .032) and physical activity (odds ratio = 0.572, 95% confidence interval [0.381, 0.849], p = .012) were associated with reduced odds of having MCI after adjusting for a series of covariates. Leisure physical activity and mahjong playing interacted with each other and produced combined effects on the odds of having MCI. Combined cognitive and physical interventions may produce larger benefits on cognition than either intervention alone.

THE IMPACTS OF OUTDOOR GYMS ON LEISURE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CAMPO GRANDE/MS

Outdoor Gyms (OGs) are spaces adopted in municipal public policies aimed at leisure physical activity. Considering the possible benefits of adopting a physically active lifestyle, this study aimed to assess the impacts of OG on leisure physical activity. Specifically, it aimed to: diagnose the profile of users; investigate the spaces used; evaluate the reasons that lead users to attend; identify the factors which act as barriers. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive/exploratory and field study investigating municipal documents and OG users located in Campo Grande/MS. The sample consisted of 275 subjects. The technique used was document analysis and structured interviews. The results indicate a predominance of females, aged 41-60 years, and married marital status. OGs are the main spaces used for leisure, having a positive impact on adherence to physical activity of 97%. Aspects related to health improvement are the main motivators for use and the absence of guidance is the biggest demotivator. It is concluded that although they positively impact the practice of leisure-time physical activity, the lack of guidance by Physical Education teachers is inhibiting.

An Assessment of the Novel COVISTRESS Questionnaire: COVID-19 Impact on Physical Activity, Sedentary Action and Psychological Emotion

Globally the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has triggered an economic downturn and a rise in unemployment. As a result, global communities have had to face physical, health, psychological and socio-economical related stressors. The purpose of this study was to assess and report the impact of isolation and effect of coronavirus on selected psychological correlates associated with emotions. Following ethical approval, a mixed methods observational study was conducted using the validated COVISTRESS questionnaire. Two observational study scenarios were evaluated namely “Prior” to the COVID-19 outbreak and “Currently”, i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic. 10,121 participants from 67 countries completed the COVISTRESS questionnaire. From the questionnaire responses only questions that covered the participant’s occupation; sociodemographic details, isolation and impact of coronavirus were selected. Further analyses were performed on output measures that included leisure time, physical activity, sedentary time and emotions. All output measures were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) with an intensity ranging from 0–100. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Spearman correlational analysis were applied to the leisure time, physical activity, sedentary time and emotional feeling datasets; p = 0.05 was set as the significance level. Both males and females displayed similar output measures. The Wilcoxon signed rank test showed significant differences with respect to “Prior” COVID-19 and “Currently” for sedentary activity (Z = −40.462, p < 0.001), physical activity (Z = −30.751, p < 0.001) and all other emotional feeling output measures. A moderate correlation between “Prior” COVID-19 and “Currently” was observed among the Males (r = 0.720) in comparison to the Females (r = 0.639) for sedentary activity while weaker correlations (r < 0.253) were observed for physical activity and emotional feeling measurements, respectively. Our study reported incremental differences in the physical and psychological output measures reported, i.e., “Prior” COVID-19 and “Currently”. “Prior” COVID-19 and “Currently” participants increased their sedentary habits by 2.98%, and the level of physical activity reduced by 2.42%, depression levels increased by 21.62%, anxiety levels increased by 16.71%, and stress levels increased by 21.8%. There were no correlations (r) between leisure, physical activity and sedentary action (i.e., “Prior” = −0.071; “Currently” = −0.097); no correlations (r) between leisure physical activity and emotion (i.e., −0.071 > r > 0.081) for “Prior”; and poor correlations (r) between leisure, physical activity and sedentary action (i.e., −0.078 > r > 0.167) for “Current”. The correlations (r) between sedentary action and emotion for “Prior” and “Currently” were (−0.100 > r > 0.075) and (−0.040 > r > 0.041) respectively. The findings presented here indicate that the COVISTRESS project has created awareness in relation to the physical and psychological impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have also highlighted individual distress caused by COVID-19 and associated health consequences for the global community.