No abstract

OBJECTIVES: Physical activity (PA) may reduce cardiovascular risk and preserve functional capacity of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, only limited research objectively measured PA in patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) in low-income countries, particularly in South America and sub-Saharan Africa. This study compared the PA assessed by accelerometers in women of low SES living with HIV under common antiretroviral therapy (cART) from two major cities in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, n=33; 40.1±6.1 years) and Mozambique (Maputo, n=50; 38.8±8.7 years). METHODS: Eligible women wore triaxial accelerometers during seven consecutive days, to estimate their habitual PA and daily energy expenditure. RESULTS: The proportion of participants with overweight/obesity was greater in Rio than Maputo (57% vs . 30%; p =0.021), as well as those classified as sedentary based on steps/day (45% vs. 22%; p =0.02). Sedentary time was prevalent (Median±IQD: Rio-1236±142 vs. Maputo-1192±135 min/day; p =0.15). Time spent in PA was short, but Brazilians exhibited lower amount of light (111±56 vs. 145±51 min/day; p <0.001) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (88±3 vs. 64±36 min/day; p =0.001) vs. Mozambicans. The proportion of patients performing 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA were 58% (Rio) and 82% (Maputo), respectively. Despite of this, estimated daily energy expenditure was equivalent in both groups (1976±579 vs. 1933±492 kcal; p =0.731). CONCLUSIONS: Women with low SES living with HIV in Maputo were more active vs. patients from Rio de Janeiro. Albeit sedentary behavior was prevalent, the proportion of patients complying with the minimum recommended PA for health was higher than values usually reported in developed countries.

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Reduced vagal activity is often present in obese adolescents. Simple and practical strategies for the assessment of isolate parasympathetic outflow in this population are therefore useful. Objectives: To compare the methods derived from heart rate variability (HRV) analysis at rest and 4 s exercise testing (T4S) for the assessment of cardiac parasympathetic modulation in adolescents classified as obese (OB) or with normal weight (NW). Additionally, associations between total and trunk fat versus autonomic modulation determined by the two methods were calculated. Approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 50 adolescents (26 OB and 24 NW, 14.7  ±  1.5 years), comparing autonomic indices provided by HRV and T4S. Body fractioning was determined employing dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Main results: The cardiac vagal index (CVI) obtained from T4S and standard time- and frequency-domain HRV measures were lower in OB versus NW (P  ⩽  0.05). Correlations between CVI and HRV indices of cardiac vagal modulation were as follows: CVI versus RMSSD (r  =  0.44; P  =  0.003); CVI versus pNN50 (r  =  0.32; P  =  0.04); CVI versus HF (r  =  0.35; P  =  0.02). Associations between body fat, android/gynoid ratio, and percent trunk fat versus CVI were of similar magnitude and direction than versus HRV indices. Significance: The T4S proved to be adequate to detect cardiac parasympathetic impairment in obese adolescents. Moreover, vagal modulation assessed by HRV and T4S inversely correlated with visceral adipose tissue. These findings along with the simplicity and safety of the T4S should encourage its use in the assessment of cardiac parasympathetic modulation in obese pediatric populations.