Papers by Evelien Mertens
Archives of Public Health, 2015
Journal of sports sciences, Jan 30, 2016
Approximately 3.2 million people die of non-communicable diseases (NCD) each year due to insuffic... more Approximately 3.2 million people die of non-communicable diseases (NCD) each year due to insufficient physical activity. Physical activity guidelines are possibly perceived as too demanding and might thus pose a barrier. We addressed the question if a more stable physical activity pattern is associated with higher levels of health-related fitness than one with high and low intensities, regardless of the physical activity level (PAL). Physical activity was objectively measured in 296 men and women (53.7 ± 8.94 years) with the SenseWear Pro Armband(®). Using this data, the PAL and a Gini index were calculated to report the physical activity pattern. Health-related fitness was expressed as a fitness index. PAL was weakly correlated to health-related fitness (r = 0.38, P < .0001). The Gini index was also weakly correlated to the fitness index (r = 0.23, P < .0001). Results of the ANCOVA showed that participants in the first quartile of PAL always scored significantly lower for hea...
AGE, 2016
Aging is a complex process that is accompanied with changes in both muscle mass and muscle functi... more Aging is a complex process that is accompanied with changes in both muscle mass and muscle function (strength and performance). Therefore, the current longitudinal study aimed to provide a better insight in 10-year aging-related changes in whole-body muscle mass and strength performance of the leg extensors during the adult life span. Data were gathered within the framework of the first- (2002-2004: baseline) and third-generation Flemish Policy Research Center Sport (2012-2014: follow-up). Results are based on muscle characteristics data of 591 Flemish Caucasian adults (19-73 years, 381 men). Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was determined with bioelectrical impedance analysis. Biodex Medical System 3® dynamometer was used to measure isometric (PTstatic120°) and isokinetic (PTdynamic60° and PTdynamic240°) strength, ballistic movement speed (S 20 %), and muscular endurance (work) of the knee extensors. Overall strength performance was higher at both evaluation moments in men compared to women (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01). But only S 20 % declined significantly faster in men compared to women (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01). Age and baseline strength performance were negatively related with the change in strength performance, even when corrected for SMM, protein intake, and energy expenditure during sports (E sport). In conclusion, strength performance was not associated with E sport in this study, but protein intake was associated with isometric strength in men, and with ballistic and isokinetic strength in women. Changes in S 20 % were significantly greater in men compared to women. Baseline values of strength performance and age were associated with changes in strength performance parameters, even after correction for SMM, protein intake, and E sport.
Journal of physical activity & health, Jan 6, 2015
Longitudinal evidence concerning the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and bloo... more Longitudinal evidence concerning the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and blood lipids and between anthropometric parameters (ANTP) and blood lipids is limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between changes in CRF and ANTP and changes in blood lipids. In 2002-2004 and 2012-2014 652 participants were tested. CRF was measured as VO2peak using a maximal ergometer test. Waist circumference (WC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were used as ANTP. Blood samples were analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. A linear regression analysis was performed to investigate associations between changes in CRF and ANTP and changes in blood lipids. After adjustment a decrease in CRF was associated with an increase in triglycerides and a decrease in HDL cholesterol in men. An increase in WC was associated with an increase in TC, LDL cholesterol and ratio total/HDL cholesterol and a decrease in HDL cholesterol, while an increa...
Nutrition & Metabolism, 2015
From a health promotion perspective, the use of dietary indices is preferred above single nutrien... more From a health promotion perspective, the use of dietary indices is preferred above single nutrients and foods to evaluate diet quality. Longitudinal research about the association between dietary indices and respectively anthropometric parameters and blood lipids is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal association between three dietary indices (Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI), Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Diet Quality Index (DQI)) and respectively anthropometric parameters and blood lipids. A three day diet record was completed by 373 men and 197 women in 2002-2004 and 2012-2014. HEI, MDS and DQI were calculated. Waist circumference (WC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were used as anthropometric parameters. A linear regression analysis was performed to investigate associations between changes in dietary indices and changes in respectively anthropometric parameters and blood lipids, adjusted for potential confounders. Only in men an increase in all three dietary indices was associated with a decrease in WC and BMI in the non-adjusted analysis and for HEI and DQI also in the adjusted analysis. No longitudinal associations were found between dietary indices and blood lipids both in men and women. Only few associations were found between dietary indices and anthropometric parameters, whilst no associations were found with blood lipids. An increase in dietary indices was associated with an improvement in anthropometric parameters only in men. As this is the first study investigating associations between changes in dietary indices and changes in respectively anthropometric parameters and blood lipids, further research is needed to evaluate these possible associations.
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2015
Aging is accompanied with a progressive deterioration of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and muscle fu... more Aging is accompanied with a progressive deterioration of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and muscle function, also termed sarcopenia. The aim was to describe SMM (based on bioelectrical impedance) and muscle function of the leg extensors over the adult age span in 819 men and 578 women, aged 18-78 years. The distribution of skeletal muscle index (SMI; SMM/height(2)) groups was described and muscle force-velocity characteristics were examined between SMI-groups over the adult life span. Subjects were divided into age categories and SMI groups to compare their muscle strength characteristics. Isometric and isokinetic strength, ballistic movement speed and muscular endurance of the knee extensors were evaluated on a Biodex dynamometer. Age by gender interaction effects were found significant (P&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.01) for all strength tests. In general, the overall drop in slow and faster knee extension strength was larger than the isometric component, with women showing larger losses by the age of 60-70 years compared to men. Regression analysis revealed significant (P&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.01) age-related reductions, with the largest explained variance for the muscular endurance parameter (24%). No age by SMI-group interaction effect was observed for muscle function, but main effects of age and SMI were significant (P&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.01). The age-related decline in muscle function was stronger in women. Furthermore, a low SMI results in a weaker muscle function compared to a normal SMI in each age-category, pointing out that its relationship with physical disability should therefore be further examined over the adult life-span.
YAKUGAKU ZASSHI, 2011
Constipation can be caused by adverse drug reactions as a result of many drugs and might be induc... more Constipation can be caused by adverse drug reactions as a result of many drugs and might be induced by sleep disorders; however, the relative risk of its occurrence with individual drugs and the in‰uence of sleep conditions have not been clariˆed. To clarify the relationship between constipation and various drugs in consideration of sleep disorders, we investigated the self-reported bowel habits, use of laxatives, and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS, a self-administered psychometric instrument to measure insomnia) in 344 inpatients on admission. They were divided into a constipation group (self-reported bowel habits of``Constipation'' or``Occasional constipation'' and/or use of laxatives, n＝161) and a non-constipation group (both``Normal'' and the non-use of laxatives, n＝183). A comparison of the backgrounds of the two patient groups revealed signiˆcant diŠerences in age, gender, number of used drugs, AIS score, hypothyroidism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, use of diuretics, coronary vasodilators, thyroid hormones, non-steroidal anti-in‰ammatory drugs, proton pump inhibitors, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and hypnotics. Multiple logistic regression analysis using these fourteen factors as autonomous variables showed that age (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95％ conˆdence interval [CI], 1.01 1.04; p＝0.007), female gender (OR, 1.96; 95％ CI, 1.21 3.18; p＝ 0.006), the AIS score (OR, 1.10; 95％ CI, 1.02 1.18; p＝0.010), and the use of hypnotics (OR, 2.33; 95％ CI, 1.30 4.16; p＝0.004) were signiˆcantly related to constipation; therefore, as hypnotics appear more likely to cause constipation than other drugs, they should be used with caution.
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Papers by Evelien Mertens