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PubMed1998

Associations between skeletal muscle properties, physical fitness, physical activity and coronary heart disease risk factors in men.

High physical fitness and physical activity are associated with favourable lipid levels, especially a high level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). A person's skeletal muscle properties, metabolism and percentage of different muscle fibres (ST-%), which may modify coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, such as serum insulin, obesity and serum sex hormones may also influence his fitness level and leisure-time physical activity. We studied the associations of physical fitness, physical activity and ST-% with serum lipids and lipoproteins in 72 healthy men. Their parameters were compared with those of 20 men with defined CHD. Significant interrelationships between ST-%, fitness and leisure-time physical activity index (LTPAI) were observed. Multiple regression analysis showed that ST-%, fitness and leisure-time physical activity explained about 32% of the variation in HDL-C in the healthy men. In healthy men ST-% correlated positively with fitness (r(s) = 0.62, P < 0.001) and with LTPAI (r(s) = 0.62, P < 0.001). Fitness level also correlated significantly with LTPAI (r(s) = 0.81, P < 0.001). Serum insulin showed negative associations with ST-% (r(s) = -0.63, P < 0.001) and fitness (r(s) = -0.54, P < 0.001) and LTPAI (r(s) = -0.62, P < 0.001). Free fraction of testosterone correlated negatively with serum HDL-C level (r(s) = -0.34, P < 0.01), with fitness (r(s) = -0.41, P < 0.001) and with LTPAI (r(s) = -0.54, P < 0.001). In sedentary men with the lowest fitness and physical activity the mean of ST-% (45%) was similar to that in CHD patients (44%). However, ST-% in men in the highest tertile of physical activity and fitness (68%) was significantly higher than in CHD patients and in men in the lowest tertile of physical activity and fitness. Skeletal muscle enzyme activity in lipid metabolism was significantly lower in both CHD patients and in sedentary and low-fit men than that in fitter and physically active men. The present data imply that skeletal muscle properties are important determinants of risk profiles, such as physical activity, fitness and serum lipid and lipoprotein patterns. Although fitness is a graded, independent predictor of mortality from CHD, a relatively high fitness level is not enough. This was clearly observed in the clustering analysis, in which the healthy men, according to their ST-%, fitness, leisure-time physical activity and serum sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), fell into three natural groups: (i) Inactive men with lowest ST-% (mean 42%), lowest fitness (10.7 METs) and lowest HDL-C (1.36 mm/l); (ii) Fit men with high ST-% (66%), high fitness (14.5 METs) and moderately high HDL-C (1.54 mol/l); (iii) Active men with high ST-% (66%), highest fitness (14.9 METs) and highest serum HDL (1.83 mmol/l). The results support the idea that both fitness and physical activity give further protection against CHD by modifying risk factors. Our findings also suggest that skeletal muscle properties should be considered in the studies which assess CHD risk factors and their modifications especially in the field of health-related fitness.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effect of test exercises and mask donning on measured respirator fit.

Quantitative respirator fit test protocols are typically defined by a series of fit test exercises. A rationale for the protocols that have been developed is generally not available. There also is little information available that describes the effect or effectiveness of the fit test exercises currently specified in respiratory protection standards. This study was designed to assess the relative impact of fit test exercises and mask donning on respirator fit as measured by a controlled negative pressure and an ambient aerosol fit test system. Multiple donnings of two different sizes of identical respirator models by each of 14 test subjects showed that donning affects respirator fit to a greater degree than fit test exercises. Currently specified fit test protocols emphasize test exercises, and the determination of fit is based on a single mask donning. A rationale for a modified fit test protocol based on fewer, more targeted test exercises and multiple mask donnings is presented. The modified protocol identified inadequately fitting respirators as effectively as the currently specified Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) quantitative fit test protocol. The controlled negative pressure system measured significantly (p < 0.0001) more respirator leakage than the ambient aerosol fit test system. The bend over fit test exercise was found to be predictive of poor respirator fit by both fit test systems. For the better fitting respirators, only the talking exercise generated aerosol fit factors that were significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than corresponding donning fit factors.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed2004

Respiratory protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: quantitative fit test outcomes for five type N95 filtering-facepiece respirators.

In preparing to fit test a large workforce, a respirator program manager needs to initially choose respirators that will fit the greatest proportion of employees and achieve the best fits. This article discusses our strategy in selecting respirators from an initial array of seven NIOSH-certified Type N95 filtering-facepiece devices for a respiratory protection program against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) aerosol. The seven respirators were screened based on manufacturer-provided fit test data, comfort, and cost. From these 7 devices, 5 were chosen for quantitative fit testing on 40 subjects who were a convenience sample from a cohort of approximately 30,000 workers scheduled to undergo fit testing. Across the five brands, medium/regular-size respirators fit from 8% to 95% of the subjects; providing another size of the same brand improved the pass rates slightly. Gender was not found to significantly affect fit test pass rates for any respirator brand. Among test panel members, an Aearo Corporation respirator (TC 84A-2630) and a 3M Company respirator (TC 84A-0006) provided the highest overall pass rates of 98% and 90%, respectively. We selected these two brands for fit testing in the larger worker cohort. To date, these two respirators have provided overall pass rates of 98% (1793/1830) and 88% (50/57), respectively, which are similar to the test panel results. Among 1850 individuals who have been fit tested, 1843 (99.6%) have been successfully fitted with one or the other brand. In a separate analysis, we used the test panel pass rates to estimate the reduction in M. tb infection risk afforded by the medium/regular-size of five filtering-facepiece respirators. We posed a low-exposure versus a high-exposure scenario for health care workers and assumed that respirators could be assigned without conducting fit testing, as proposed by many hospital infection control practitioners. Among those who would pass versus fail the fit test, we assumed an average respirator penetration (primarily due to faceseal leakage) of .04 and 0.3, respectively. The respirator with the highest overall pass rate (95%) reduced M. tb infection risk by 95%, while the respirator with the lowest pass rate (8%) reduced M. tb infection risk by only 70%. To promote the marketing of respirators that will successfully fit the highest proportion of wearers, and to increase protection for workers who might use respirators without the benefit of being fit tested, we recommend that fit testing be part of the NIOSH certification process for negative-pressure air-purifying respirators with tightly fitting facepieces. At a minimum, we recommend that respirator manufacturers generate and provide pass rate data to assist in selecting candidate respirators. In any event, program managers can initially select candidate respirators by comparing quantitative fit tests for a representative sample of their employee population.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Reducing respirator fit test errors: a multi-donning approach.

As a continuation of recent studies to assess the accuracy of existing fit test methods, a multi-donning approach to fit testing is presented. As an example of that approach, a multi-donning quantitative fit test for filtering-facepiece respirators is presented and analyzed by comparing its error rates with those of the single-donning approach of current fit test methods. That analysis indicates the multi-donning fit test has the potential to reduce both the alpha error and the beta error to half that of single-donning fit tests. The alpha error is the error of failing a respirator that should pass; the beta error is the error of passing a respirator that should fail. Lowering fit test error rates for filtering-facepiece respirators is important because fit testing is an essential means of helping assure that an individual has selected an adequately fitting respirator. To reduce the alpha and beta error inherent in current fit test methods, the proposed fit test for filtering-facepiece respirators incorporates five donnings of the facepiece, unlike the single donning of existing fit test methods. The analysis presented here indicates that the multiple-donning approach reduces the element of chance in the fit test result and thereby increases the consistency and accuracy of the fit tests. The time to conduct the multi-donning test can approximate the time for current, single-donning tests by shortening the time the respirator is worn after each donning to about 10 sec. And, unlike current fit tests for filtering-facepieces that measure only faceseal leakage, the example multiple-donning fit test considered here is based on a measurement of total leakage (faceseal plus filter). Utilizing total respirator leakage can result in simpler quantitative fit test instrumentation and a fit test that is more relevant to the workplace. Further trials with human subjects are recommended in order to validate the proposed multi-donning approach.

Equipment Failure Analysis↗
PubMed1996

Evaluation of soft contact lens fitting characteristics.

The assessment of soft contact lens fit by observation of the lens behavior on the eye is one of the most common procedures undertaken in contact lens practice. Nevertheless, the guidelines for doing so have been derived empirically with little or no research into the usefulness of these observations. Over 2000 evaluations of soft contact lens fit were analyzed to determine the predictive value of various indicators of contact lens fit, namely: subjective comfort, lens centration, postblink movement (PBM), version and upgaze lag, and tightness assessed by the push-up test. The receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves were prepared for each variable by plotting sensitivity values against false positive rates (FPRs) for various cut-off points. Sensitivity was defined as the proportion of "bad" fits correctly identified by a given variable; FPR was defined as the proportion of "good" fits incorrectly identified as bad fits. With each fitting variable, the optimum cut-off point and its corresponding sensitivity and FPR were determined from the ROC curves. Subjective comfort was found to be of little value in identifying tight fitting lenses but was of some limited value in identifying loose fitting lenses, particularly high water content (HWC) lenses. The push-up test was the most accurate single test of lens fit acceptability having a high sensitivity for both tight (92%) and loose (80%) lens fits. Assessment of PBM was a sensitive indicator of tight fitting lenses (95%), but was a poor indicator of loose fitting lenses, having a low sensitivity (51%). Assessment of version lag showed better sensitivity than upgaze lag in assessing loose fits, whereas upgaze lag showed better sensitivity for tight lens fits. Lens centration was of no predictive value in identifying tight fitting lenses but, as expected, was of some value in identifying loose fitting lenses. The results of this study enable a critical reassessment of the procedures that practitioners follow when fitting soft contact lenses.

Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic↗
PubMed2004

Effects of cardiorespiratory fitness on healthcare utilization.

BACKGROUND: Prospective study examining the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness level and incidence of medical treatments during a 1-yr period before each of two examinations. A subset was also evaluated to assess whether improvement in fitness affected incidence of treatments. METHODS AND RESULTS: Part I: Six thousand six hundred seventy-nine healthy male subjects underwent medical examinations on two occasions, including a maximal exercise test. Division of subjects by fitness into quartiles (Q1 = low fitness through Q4 = high fitness) revealed an inverse relationship between fitness and outcome measures. Men in the low-fitness group had more office visits and overnight hospital stays than men in the high-fitness group (3.5% (Q1) vs 1.6% (Q4) men had 10+ office visits, and 10% (Q1) vs 5.0% (Q4) men had overnight hospital stays, P < 0.0001). These differences held after adjustment for potential confounding variables (age, follow-up yr, blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking). Part II: Subjects in this subset (N = 2974) were evaluated to compare overnight hospital stays between low-fit men who remained low fit at the second examination, and low-fit men who became fit by the second examination. This cohort was divided into fitness tertiles (T1 = low fitness through T3 = high fitness). Those who improved their fitness by the time of the second examination had a decreased number of overnight hospital stays, compared with those who remained unfit at the time of the second examination (10.2% (T1 at second visit) vs 5.9% (T3 at second visit) had overnight hospital stays, P < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Men who maintain or become fit are less likely to have physician visits or overnight hospital stays, compared with men who are unfit.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Clinical performance and factors affecting the physical fit of a soft toric frequent replacement contact lens.

BACKGROUND: Differences in ocular parameters between Chinese and Caucasian eyes may lead to differences in the success rate of soft contact lens fittings. As most disposable or frequent replacement lenses are manufactured based on data of Caucasian eyes, the aim of this study was to investigate the clinical performance and factors affecting the preliminary fitting of a 'one-fit' bi-weekly replacement soft toric lens on Hong Kong (HK)-Chinese. METHOD: Forty-one HK-Chinese were fitted with Acuvue soft toric lenses (on one eye only). The success rate, the comfort, vision and the effects of central corneal curvature, horizontal visible iris diameter (HVID) and palpebral aperture size (PAS) on the physical fit of the toric lenses were determined. RESULTS: Twenty-four of 41 eyes (58.6 per cent) attained acceptable fit and satisfactory vision with these lenses. The main reason for unsuccessful lens fit was loose fitting. Only central corneal curvatures were significantly correlated (statistically) to the looseness of the lens. DISCUSSION: The results showed that about 40 per cent of our subjects were unable to obtain acceptable fit with this one-fit frequent replacement lens, the main reason for which was loose fit. This was expected due to the steeper corneas of the Chinese eyes and we would expect similar results with other one-fit soft lenses. Only the central corneal radii were significantly correlated with the looseness of the lens fit. However, this factor was not the main factor affecting the contact lens fitting. HVID and PAS did not appear to play any significant role in the physical fit of this lens. As there are individual variations of lens fitting behaviour, trial lens fitting assessment is the most suitable way to select the appropriate lens.

Adolescent↗