The aim of this study was to test the effects of chair-based exercise programs on salivary stress hormones, physical fitness and functional autonomy of institutionalized older women. Methods: A total of 47 participants (80 ± 8.04 years old) were recruited and allocated into three groups: chair based aerobic exercises (CAE, n = 19), chair-based elasticband strength exercises (CSE, n = 15) and a control group (CG, n = 13). A 14-week exercise intervention was done for the CAE and CSE, two times per week, in no consecutive days.The CG did not participate in any type of exercise but kept their regular lifestyle. Fear of falling, autonomy, physical fitness, salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: CAE improved upper and lower body strength, agility-dynamic balance and autonomy with fear of falling decreasing significantly (p <.05, moderate effect size). Both exercise groups showed a trend towards an increase in salivary alpha-amylase levels (CAE = 43%, d = .31 and CSE = 44%, d = .41). Conclusion: Both exercise programs were able to improve functional autonomy, even in elders over 80 years of age. However, it might be interesting to investigate the effectiveness of combining both aerobic and strength exercises in a unique protocol. The modulation effect of exercise in the hormonal responses needs to be further explored.

No abstract

The study suggests that hydrocinesiotherapy was effective as an alternative therapy for fibromyalgia, however further studies are recommended to test the associations between the variables and intervention programs and using the water activities, and the modifiability of the parameters of physical and mental health when these individuals undergo programs of short, medium and long duration.

The new coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) appearance in Wuhan, China, did rise the new virus disease (COVID‐19), which spread globally in a short time, leading the World Health Organization to declare a new global pandemic. To contain and mitigate the spread of SARS‐CoV‐2, specific public health procedures were implemented in virtually all countries, with a significant impact on society, making it difficult to keep the regular practice of physical activity. It is widely accepted that an active lifestyle contributes to the improvement of general health and preservation of cardiovascular, respiratory, osteo‐muscular and immune system capacities. The positive effects of regular physical activity on the immune system have emerged as a pivotal trigger of general health, underlying the beneficial effects of physical activity on multiple physiological systems. Accordingly, recent studies have already pointed out the negative impact of physical inactivity caused by the social isolation imposed by the public sanitary authorities due to COVID‐19. Nevertheless, there are still no current narrative reviews evaluating the real impact of COVID‐19 on active lifestyle or even discussing the possible beneficial effects of exercise‐promoted immune upgrade against the severity or progression of COVID‐19. Based on the consensus in the scientific literature, in this review, we discuss how an exercise adherence could adequately improve immune responses in times of the ‘COVID‐19 Era and beyond’.

We investigated the effect of the intervention using the BFR method on functional capacity after 16 weeks in elderly women. In a controlled clinical trial, 23 women were randomly allocated into two groups, low-intensity exercise with blood flow restriction (LI + BFR, N = 11, Age: 69.40 ± 5.73) and control group (CG, N = 12, Age: 69.00 ± 6.39). The LI + BFR group had a volume of 75 repetitions at 20-30 % of 1RM and 3-4 sets per exercise (30, 15, 15 and repetitions with 30" rest between sets). The CG did not undergo any type of exercise. Functional capacity, anthropometry and sarcopenia were verified through a battery of tests before and after 16 weeks. The LI + BFR group had significant improvement in performance in Handgrip strength, Chair Stand, Arm curl, 2.44 Up-and-Go and 6 min walk, Sit-andreach and Back Scratch (p<0.05) after the intervention. The elderly women were still classified as sarcopenic, despite the improvement in the Muscle Mass Index (p<0.01). CG did not present significant changes. The BFR method can be an effective in the intervention process using physical exercise as an auxiliary strategy in the control of sarcopenia, providing a physical profile during the aging process.

Introduction: Frailty associated to core dimensions of psychological well-being (PwB) has appeared as a possible new frailty phenotype named psychological frailty, implying a parallel to physical frailty (PF). Very little is known about the associations between mental well-being, especially emotional, mood, and self-perception dimensions, and the frailty syndrome in institutionalized older populations. The present study aims to examine the interlink between the PF phenotype and the core dimensions of PwB in Portuguese institution-dwelling older women. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected. A total of 358 older women, aged 75 years or more, were recruited from four nursing homes within the city of Coimbra and asked to complete a sociodemographic and a general health assessment survey. The main PwB dimensions were assessed in all participants: (i) global cognitive status was assessed using The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Neuropsychology Test, (ii) self-perception was screened using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Global Self-Esteem Scale, (iii) CES-D of depression and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to screen mood states, and (iv) subjective happiness, satisfaction with life, and attitudes to aging psychometric rating scales were used to screen for emotional well-being. The syndrome of PF was assessed using Fried's PF phenotype that includes weight loss, weakness, slowness, exhaustion, and low physical activity (PA) level assessments. Results: Frail older women had a poor score in all PwB outcomes, except for global selfesteem and satisfaction with life. A hierarchical regression model analysis showed that global cognitive status and emotional well-being of subjective happiness and attitude to aging showed a significant negative relationship with PF in both unadjusted and adjusted models (explaining 34 and 40% of variance, respectively).

No abstract

Resumo O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar a magnitude do efeito estatístico das diferenças de média na avaliação do desempenho cognitivo em idosos-fragilizados. A pesquisa foi realizada nas bases de dados PubMed, B-on, Ebsco, Scielo, Eric, Lilacs e Sportdiscus. Foram incluídos estudos observacionais, coorte ou transversal, selecionados a partir do título, resumo e leitura do manuscrito. Os principais descritores utilizados foram: idoso, idoso-fragilizado, cognição, avaliação geriátrica e outros termos adicionais. De 1078 manuscritos identificados, 12 foram selecionados. Quando comparados os valores de média do desempenho cognitivo dos pré-fragilizados (n = 11265) e fragilizados (n = 2460) foram encontradas diferenças significantes (p < 0,001), com valores mais baixos emergindo no grupo dos idosos-fragilizados. Os resultados demostraram que o baixo desempenho cognitivo está relacionado à condição de idoso-fragilizado, sendo um desfecho clínico provável em idosos. Nestas circunstâncias, qualquer estratégia que vise atenuar ou reverter a incidência desta condição deve ter em consideração que durante o processo de envelhecimento, a fragilidade física e a cognitiva parecem ter trajetórias temporais similares.