José Ignacio Calvo Arenillas

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients’ experience with pulmonary rehabilitation: A systematic review of qualitative research

The aim of this study was to give an in-depth consideration of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients’ subjective view of the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on their lives. A systematic review in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and PsychInfo databases yielded 3306 articles, of which 387 were duplicates, 263 remained after screening abstract and title; of them, 4 were excluded (editorial or due to lacking of full text) remaining a total of 259 for full text reading. Among these, eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were finally included. The meta-ethnography approach synthesized an understanding of the studies, which focused on constructing interpretations and developed a ‘line-of-argument’ synthesis. The psychosocial support of PR contributes to the patients’ strength and desire for participation and the health education leads to illness-perception learning. Both psychosocial support and health education develop patients’ empowerment, while PR promotes opportunities to health transitions. The empowerment experienced by the patients in taking advantage of these opportunities leads to positive impacts over time. If they do not exploit these occasions, negative impacts arise in their life, which make the treatment assistance or follow-up more difficult. The COPD patients’ feedback revealed that PR promotes a better ‘way of life’, well-being and important behavioural changes towards health promotion.

Antioxidantes, atividade física e estresse oxidativo em mulheres idosas

OBJECTIVE: To verify the influence of dietary antioxidant supplementation in older women who regularly practice physical activities, on the occurrence of oxidative stress, physical health and risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). METHOD: Two groups (S and C) of women, with age ranging from 60 to 80 years old, were observed. Both groups took part in a physical activity program for 58 weeks, three times a week, for about 50 to 55 minutes each session. The diet of group S (n=36) was daily supplemented with 330 ml of a functional antioxidant beverage, FuncionaTM; Group C (n=32) ingested water and was used as Control. As oxidative stress indicators, the plasmatic concentrations of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione were determined; the molar GSH/GSSG ratio was calculated, and the oxidative damage in lipids and proteins was evaluated. The physical and cardiovascular conditions were evaluated through routine anthropometric parameters (weight, stature and BMI) and blood pressure. RESULTS: Group C presented significant increases of oxidative stress, reduction in the blood pressure and in the indicators of cardiovascular risks. Group S presented significant reduction of the oxidative stress and increment of the cardiovascular gains. Significance concerning the ergogenic effects has not been identified. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that regular exercise in older women can improve physical and cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, daily intake of functional antioxidant supplement can minimize harmful effects of the reactive oxygen species.

Evaluación de la ca lidad de vida relacionada con la salud en pacientes com fibromialgia - doi:10.5020/18061230.2010.p199

Objectives: To determine the impact that fibromyalgia (FM) has on quality of life; to compare the quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia with the healthy Spanish population and to know the correlation and sensibility of two instruments of quality of life in FM. Method: A cross-sectional and observational study. Twenty-seven subjects joined in (25 women and 2 men) with a mean age of 50.5 years (SD 7.9), belonging to the Salmantina Association of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. The Spanish versions of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the the Short-Form 36 (SF36) were used to study quality of life. Results: High scores were obtained in the “Energy”, “Pain”, “Sleep” and “Physical mobility” dimensions of the NHP and low scores in the “Physical problems”, “Pain”, “Vitality” and “General health perception” dimensions of the SF-36. Statistical significant differences were found in all dimensions comparing to the healthy Spanish population. The following dimensions were negatively statistically correlated: “Energy”(NHP)-“Vitality” (SF-36); “Pain”(NHP)- “Physical function”, “Pain and Vitality” (SF-36); “Physical mobility” (NHP)-“Physical function and Physical problems” (SF-36); “Emotional reactions” (NHP)- “Mental health”, “Emotional problems” and “General health” (SF-36). The SF-36 is more sensitive than the NHP to evaluate the deterioration of the fibromyalgia. Conclusions: The fibromyalgia produces a significant deterioration in quality of life that can be assessed by the dimensions of the NHP and the SF-36.