Samenvatting studies Health Psychology, part 2

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, SEDENTARY BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH
Effect of aerobic training on Exercise in patients with asthma
patients with ASTHMA - Control group
- Exercise group: educational program + breathing exercises + aerobic training
- 2x week for 3 months
Result: reduced anxiety and depression + improved quality of life after treatment in the aerobic training
group
 Aerobic training can play an important role in the clinical management of patients with persistent
asthma
Biological mediating factors between PA and mental health
Effect of physical activity in rodents PA increases neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rats
on neurogenesis - These new neurons become functionally integrated into the existing neural circuitry as they mature
- Measured post-mortem
- To measure neurogenesis in alive people, we need to use indirect measures
Brain Volume – Erickson Exercise intervention for 1 year in low active, healthy older adults
- Intervention: aerobic exercise (walking 40 minutes), 3x/week
- Control: stretching
Results:
- Decrease in hippocampus volume in the control group
 Higher preintervention fitness attenuated the decline!
- Increase in hippocampus volume in the aerobic exercise group
Brain Volume – Firth et al. Impact of aerobic exercise on hippocampal volume in humans
Results:
- No significant effect on total hippocampal volume
- No significant effect on right hippocampal volume
- Significant effect on left hippocampal volume
 Not an increase in the left volume
 An attenuation of age-related decline compared to the control group
 Exercise could attenuate age-related cognitive decline in hippocampal volume


1

,Brain Volume – 3 studies 1. Exercise compared to control also decline attenuation of
- Prefrontal cortex
- ACC = anterior cingulate cortex
 Higher order attentional control, executive functioning, memory processes

2. PA in younger adults
- Increased volume of ACC
 Indicates that PA also has benefits for brain function in younger adults

3. Exercise in patients (young and old) with depression
- Increased volume of ACC
- ACC often affected in depression
 Indicates that exercise may have benefits to brain regions related to depression
Inflammation Does aerobic exercise improve bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and airway and systemic
inflammation in patients with moderate or severe asthma?
 Lungs of asthma patients react too much to certain stimuli
- Control group
- Aerobic training group
- 3 months of training
- BHR and serum cytokine were evaluated before and after the intervention
Results:
- Aerobic training reduced BHR and serum proinflammatory cytokines
- Improved quality of life and asthma exacerbation in patients with moderate or severe asthma
 Suggests that adding exercise as an adjunct therapy to pharmacological treatment could improve
the main features of asthma
Higher-level cognitive functioning - Higher fit individuals show greater amplitude of P3 component compared to lower-fit individuals
 Suggests that individuals with higher physical fitness have an increased cognitive control
- Event Related Negativity (ERN) is associated with response conflict
 Higher-fit individuals show reduced amplitude in ERN compared to lower-fit individuals
 Suggests that individuals with higher aerobic fitness have decreased response conflict

2

,Sedentary behavior
Relationship sedentary behavior – - Strong consistent evidence for the relationship between both depressive symptomatology and
mental health psychological distress, and time spent using screens for leisure
- Moderate evidence for the relationship between low self-esteem and screen use
- Poorer mental health status was found among adolescents using screen time more than 2-3h per
day + gender differences exist
Sedentary behavior (objectively An examination of objectively-measured sedentary behavior and mental wellbeing in adults across
measured) and mental health weekdays and weekends
- 42 adults
- activPAL monitor 24h/day for one week
- Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and SF12 Health Survey

Differences in time sitting
- Group 1: less than 8 hours per day
- Group 2: 8-10 hours per day
- Group 3: more than 10 hours per day

Results:
- Group 1 had lower anxiety and depression + higher mental health and vitality scores than group 2
and 3, controlled for PA (step count)
Mediating factors between sedentary behavior and (mental) health
Neuroplasticity – Brain Volume Study on objectively measured sedentary behavior and brain volume in multiple sclerosis
- Sedentary behavior patterns and whole brain gray matter, white matter, and subcortical GM
structures in people with MS
- 36 people with MS (accelerometer and brain MRI)

Result:
- A negative association between sedentary behavior and GM and WM structures
Neuroplasticity – White Matter - 352 older adults
- Baseline and 5 year change

3

, - Wearing activity monitors
 Sedentary behavior
 PA
- MRI
 Grey matter
 White matter
Result:
- More sedentary behavior was associated with a stronger reduction in white matter
- This result was independent of PA!
Neuroplasticity – Cerebral Blood Blood glucose regulation
Flow - Increased glucose levels due to less glucose uptake by skeletal muscles
-  Increased insulin secretion and reduced cerebral blood flow

Blood pressure
- Increased blood pressure
-  Might reduce cerebral blood flow over time
Inflammation – Leon, Latre et al. Cross-sectional study in 929 healthy males
- Sitting time & PA assessed with questionnaire
- Inflammatory markers: C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocyte concentrations
Result:
- Workers who spend more time sitting showed a worse inflammatory profile independently of BMI
or PA
Inflammation – Dunstan et al. Prolonged sitting associated with
- Increased levels of cytokines in the blood
- Increased blood glucose levels
- Increased adipokines
 Sedentary behavior increases the amount of inflammation markers in the blood, independently
of BMI and PA




4