Archives of Allied Health Sciences

The immediate effects of whole-body vibration on flexibility and ankle systolic blood pressure in middle-aged individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus

May Thandar Khin — 2024-02-23

Poor body flexibility in middle-aged individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) could increase the risk of falls and injuries. Insulin resistance induces vascular alterations in the lower extremities, leading to increased ankle systolic blood pressure (SBP), which correlates with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of whole-body vibration (WBV) on flexibility and ankle SBP in middle-aged T2DM patients. This randomized singleblinded crossover design was used to study 14 participants (average age: 49.71 ± 5.28 years, average body mass index: 26.98 ± 3.24 kg/m², average duration of diabetes: 2.32 ± 1.74 years) who were randomly assigned to two intervention sequences, starting with non-whole-body vibration (NWBV) or WBV, with seven participants in each sequence. On days 1 and 8, the intervention varied between NWBV and WBV. The outcomes, including flexibility, ankle blood pressure, brachial blood pressure, and the ankle brachial index, were measured at baseline and 15 min, and 45 min after completing the interventions. A repeated measures two-way ANOVA was used for the data analysis. After a 7-day washout period, neither group exhibited a carryover effect. At the post-intervention period, the WBV intervention resulted in a significant increase in flexibility (+3.52 cm after 15 min and +4.20 cm after 45 min; p-value < 0.05) and a significant decrease in ankle SBP (–7.91 mmHg after 15 min; p-value < 0.05) and the ABI (–0.09 after 15 min and –0.07 after 45 min; p-value < 0.05). In contrast, the NWBV intervention led to a significant increase in ankle SBP (+10.50 mmHg after 45 min; p-value < 0.05). These findings show that middle-aged patients with T2DM might benefit from a single session of 12-min WBV training in terms of improving flexibility, ankle SBP, and the ABI. Therefore, it may be an exercise option for middle-aged T2DM patients.

Effects of Qigong combined with Muay Thai on cardiorespiratory responses and its exercise intensity in older participants

Guang Yang — 2024-02-28

Khon Kaen Qigong (KKQ) is a new type of exercise that combines Qigong (Baduanjin and Wuqinxi) with Muay Thai. No studies have demonstrated its effects on exercise intensity and cardiorespiratory responses. We aimed to investigate the intensity of the exercise using the cardiorespiratory responses in sedentary older adults. This was a randomized, controlled, pre-and post-test parallel-group study. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (n=30 each): the exercise or the control group. There were three phases (30 min each) for each activity, including before (baseline), during, and after (recovery) reading a book in the control group or performing KKQ in the exercise group. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured before, immediately after, and 30-min after the activities. Expired gas was collected to measure the respiratory responses and ventilatory efficiency throughout the experiment. Compared with reading, KKQ increased heart rate (p-value < 0.05) and respiratory responses and decreased ventilatory efficiency (All were p-value < 0.01). Markers indicating exercise intensity indicated very low-intensity exercises. This study suggests that a single bout of KKQ can be classified as a very light-intensity exercise according to very low increased cardiorespiratory responses in sedentary older participants. It also decreases ventilatory efficiency, which is related to cardiovascular risk factors. Further studies on KKQ training may confirm its impact on cardiovascular disease interventions.

An Excel Visual Basic for Application worksheet for automatic selection of a sigma statistical quality control procedure, facilitating quality management for laboratories

Pranadta Wontong — 2024-03-20

Defining the proper statistical quality control (SQC) procedure and designing the quality control plan provide the analytical quality management (QM) that is essential in laboratory practice, ensuring that reported test results achieve the quality required for medical decisions. The Westgard sigma rules with run size, one of the popular quality control planning tools, is an effective tool for evaluating measurement performance and simplifying an appropriate selection of SQC. To achieve QM, the author established an Excel Visual Basic for Application (VBA) worksheet for automatic sigma scale calculation and automatic selection of SQC procedures. This file applied the Westgard sigma rules with run size concept, developed for a convenient multistage SQC design. In addition, there are more functions for monitoring QC results, documenting, and compiling the corrections utilized to improve QC design. Of 23 assays from our laboratory, only one-fifth of the tests (22%) achieved an optimal level of performance (≥ 6 sigma). Analytes with the highest sigma performance were triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), magnesium (Mg) and creatine phosphokinase (CK). In contrast, one-third of the tests (35%) had a sigma scale of less than 4, requiring them to be solved, improved and have rigorous QC monitoring by primary following in the Data Analysis sheet. Thus, this Excel VBA worksheet is an alternative tool for simplifying analytical QM that is effectively controlled and convenient, with multistage SQC designs.

Least significant change as an essential tool for monitoring of bone mineral density using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry

Thantip Pholwattana — 2024-04-11

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans are the gold standard for measuring bone mineral density (BMD). It is accepted that precision error is crucial in monitoring BMD measurements. The least significant change (LSC) signifies the minimum difference between two consecutive BMD measurements that can confidently indicate a genuine biological change. This value provides direct benefit to patients by aiding clinicians in making clinical decisions based on real change or stability of BMD. This study aimed to determine the LSC for DXA scan used at Udonthani Cancer Hospital. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 150 patients undertaking DXA scans performed by one of our five radio-technologists from March 2023 to September 2023. Each technologist assessed BMD study of 30 participants twice, obtaining paired BMD measurements for the lumbar vertebrae, hip, and forearm. We utilized the copy of region of interest (ROI) software to replicate the ROI. The LSC was calculated with a 95% CI using both the RMS SD and RMS %CV formulas. The obtained LSC were 3.26% for the L1-L4 vertebrae, 4.40% for the femoral neck, 2.30% for the total proximal femur, and 5.30% for the 33% radius, meeting 2019 International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) standards. Nevertheless, the ISCD 2019 guidelines do not provide acceptable value for determining the LSC at the 33% radius. The higher variability in measurements at the femoral neck and the 33% radius emphasizes the need for continuous professional development and enhanced reproducible methods to improve the precision of BMD measurement using DXA scans.