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Work Capacity (work + capacity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	73%
Life Sciences	10%

Kinds of Work Capacity

physical work capacity

Selected Abstracts

The Effects of Obesity on Functional Work Capacity and Quality of Life in Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation

PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
John Gunstad PhD
Many patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are obese. It is unknown, however, whether obese patients derive reduced benefit from CR. A total of 388 CR patients were categorized into normal-weight, overweight, class I obese, and class II/III obese groups. Functional work capacity and quality of life were examined at baseline and after 12-week completion of the CR program. After adjusting for demographic and medical conditions, class II/III obese persons showed lower work capacity and physical quality of life at both baseline and follow-up. Class II/III obese individuals also showed smaller gains in work capacity from baseline to follow-up than all other groups. Further work is needed to identify strategies for improving outcome in obese patients, including incorporating structured weight loss into CR or post-CR referral to an exercise maintenance program. [source]

Normal physical working capacity in prepubertal children with type 1 diabetes compared with healthy controls

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 10 2005
Elsa Heyman
Abstract Background: Exercise testing has become a valuable help for the physician to examine the influence of recommended exercise training on physical fitness. However, the question as to how diabetic prepubertal children differ from their non-diabetic peers in their performance capacity has only partial and sometimes conflicting answers in the literature. Aim and methods: The aim of the current study was thus to evaluate aerobic fitness during an incremental submaximal test (measure of the Physical Working Capacity 170 (PWC170)) in 17 well-controlled prepubertal insulin-dependent diabetic boys aged 8.5,13 y. Eighteen healthy prepubertal boys matched for age, body size and physical activity served as controls. Part of the method was to check capillary blood glucose level in the diabetic patients and in nine of the healthy subjects throughout the exercise. Results: From this experiment it appeared that the level of physical fitness was similar in diabetic and healthy boys (PWC170 2.28±0.09 vs 2.37±0.13 W·kg,1). While glucose homeostasis was well maintained in the healthy group, diabetic children showed a marked fall in blood glucose during the exercise. In addition, the PWC170 level correlated significantly with the estimate of energy expenditure attributed to vigorous activities in the diabetic boys. Conclusion: By studying the responses to incremental exercise there is growing evidence that normal physical fitness is preserved in diabetic prepubertal boys given appropriate involvement in physical activity. [source]

Mechanisms of exercise-induced improvements in the contractile apparatus of the mammalian myocardium

ACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 4 2010
O. J. Kemi
Abstract One of the main outcomes of aerobic endurance exercise training is the improved maximal oxygen uptake, and this is pivotal to the improved work capacity that follows the exercise training. Improved maximal oxygen uptake in turn is at least partly achieved because exercise training increases the ability of the myocardium to produce a greater cardiac output. In healthy subjects, this has been demonstrated repeatedly over many decades. It has recently emerged that this scenario may also be true under conditions of an initial myocardial dysfunction. For instance, myocardial improvements may still be observed after exercise training in post-myocardial infarction heart failure. In both health and disease, it is the changes that occur in the individual cardiomyocytes with respect to their ability to contract that by and large drive the exercise training-induced adaptation to the heart. Here, we review the evidence and the mechanisms by which exercise training induces beneficial changes in the mammalian myocardium, as obtained by means of experimental and clinical studies, and argue that these changes ultimately alter the function of the whole heart and contribute to the changes in whole-body function. [source]

Short-Term Effects of Right Ventricular Pacing on Cardiorespiratory Function in Patients With a Biventricular Pacemaker

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 6 2008
Stefan Toggweiler MD
The intention of this study was to evaluate the short-term effect of right ventricular (RV) pacing on cardiorespiratory function in patients with a biventricular pacemaker. A group of 26 patients with a biventricular pacemaker was enrolled in this cross-over, single-blind study. All patients underwent spiroergometry and electrocardiography in RV and biventricular pacing mode. Peak work capacity (102±32 W and 107±34 W for RV and biventricular pacing mode, respectively; P<.01) and peak oxygen consumption (21.4±6.7 mL/min/kg and 22.6±7.0 mL/min/kg for RV and biventricular pacing mode, respectively; P<.01) were significantly lower in the RV pacing mode. Heart rate at rest was significantly higher with active RV pacing. Short-term RV pacing in patients with a biventricular pacemaker resulted in a higher heart rate at rest, a lower peak work capacity, and a lower peak oxygen consumption compared with that in the biventricular pacing mode. [source]

Measurement of physical work capacity during arm and shoulder lifting at various shoulder flexion and ad/abduction angles

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2003
Jung-Yong Kim
The purpose of this study was to provide information on physical work capacity during arm and shoulder lifting at various shoulder flexion and ad/abduction angles. We measured the maximum voluntary contractions (MVCs) in 20 male participants during controlled one-arm lifting. The lifting involved upward motion of the scapula at various shoulder angles. Simultaneously, the electromyographic (EMG) activity of 3 shoulder muscles and psychophysical workload were also recorded. The various measurements were compared to provide a multidimensional assessment of the physical work capacity of the shoulder at various working angles. In particular, 90 and 120 degrees of flexion, 30 degrees of adduction, and 90 degrees of abduction were found to be the most vulnerable angles based on the measured MVCs. The average root mean square value of the EMG increased most significantly at 90 to 150 degrees of flexion and at 30 and 60 degrees of abduction. Slightly different measurements were compared to validate the results. In addition, a 3-D static biomechanical model was used to show whether the estimated shoulder workload matched the measured physical capacity of the shoulder. In conclusion, these results may help ergonomists to identify shoulder angles associated with a relatively high risk of injury, and to match the workload with the physical capacity of the shoulder. Task-specific information on shoulder work capacity is needed in the manufacturing and shipbuilding industries to protect workers from acute injuries and cumulative trauma disorders of the shoulder. Experimental results provide various data on shoulder work capacity during realistic multijoint arm and shoulder lifting, and should help lead to improvements in workplace ergonomic design. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 13: 153,163, 2003. [source]

Depressed humoral immunity after weight reduction in competitive judoists

LUMINESCENCE: THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL LUMINESCENCE, Issue 3 2002
Seikou Ohta
Abstract We studied changes in serum opsonic activity (SOA) in male judoists who were engaged in active weight reduction. Serum immunoglobulins, complements and SOA, measured by neutrophil-associated chemiluminescence responses, were investigated 20 days, 7 days and 1 day before a competition and 5 days after the competition. In addition, muscle strength and anaerobic work capacity, as well as body composition, were also determined. A dietary survey was conducted daily during the observation period. Body weight decreased by 4.2 kg over 19 days. SOA significantly decreased 5 days after the competition, as well as the concentrations of serum immunoglobulins, complements and total proteins. These trends were noted in the marked weight reduction group (i.e. reduction weight of body fat/body fat weight before weight reduction ,25%) more than the slight reduction group (<25%). Depressed SOA was closely correlated with the decreased concentrations of immunoglobulins and complements. These results suggest that the decrease in immunoglobulins and complements following weight reduction is associated with reduced SOA, which might cause susceptibility to infections. This study demonstrated that such immunosuppression appeared in the recovery period after the competition rather than immediately before the competition. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Biventricular Pacing as Alternative Therapy for Dilated Cardiomyopathy Associated with Congenital Heart Disease

PACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
EDWIN RODRÍGUEZ-CRUZ
RODRÍGUEZ-CRUZ, E., et al.: Biventricular Pacing as Alternative Therapy for Dilated Cardiomyopathy Associated with Congenital Heart Disease. Biventricular, alternative, and multisite pacing are currently being explored to improve cardiac function among patients with medically refractory, end-stage dilated cardiomyopathies. Although, due to inherent myocardial abnormalities, patients with repaired congenital heart defects may be at a greater risk than others to develop heart failure, often requiring cardiac transplantation. The efficacy of biventricular pacing among these patients is unknown. This report presents a patient with successfully repaired congenital heart disease in infancy who developed a symptomatic dilated cardiomyopathy at 22 years of age. Following biventricular pacing, systemic ventricular function showed a 14% improvement in ventricular dP/dt. One month later, subjective symptoms improved and cardiac ultrasound illustrated a 125% increase in fractional area of change. Exercise stress testing showed a 17% improvement in aerobic work capacity. [source]

Maternal work and childhood nutritional status among the Purari, Papua New Guinea

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2003
Stanley J. Ulijaszek
In traditional economies, body size, physical work capacity, subsistence productivity, and nutrition of adults may be interrelated, and one cross-generational effect of these relationships may operate through the household, influencing nutritional status of children. In this analysis, the relationships among adult body size, work productivity in terms of time spent making sago starch, dietary diversity, nutrient availability, and childhood nutritional status are examined in the Purari population of Papua New Guinea, a group largely dependent on the starchy staple palm sago, which is devoid of all nutrients apart from energy. Observations of work scheduling, household food and nutrient availability, and nutritional status were carried out for 16 women, their households, and their children. A multiple regression model of hours spent in sago making on a particular day with days spent in other subsistence activities showed a negative relationship with the number of days spent in sago-making and a positive relationship with the number of days spent fishing. The number of hours spent in sago-making on a particular day was also positively related to daily per capita availability of protein at the household level. This is not a function of maternal nutritional status, however, since there is no association between body size of adult females and the number of hours spent making sago on a particular day. Nor does the greater per capita protein availability at the household level in households where women spend longer on a particular day in sago-making result in improved childhood nutritional status. Since relationships among adult body size, work productivity, dietary diversity, nutrient availability, and childhood nutritional status are only partially demonstrated in this population, it may be that these linkages may only be important if physically arduous work is needed more consistently than is the case in the Purari delta. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:472,478, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The Effects of Obesity on Functional Work Capacity and Quality of Life in Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation

Occupational therapists as expert witnesses on work capacity

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Shelley Allen
Aim:,The aim of this study was to explore the particular challenges for occupational therapists during their cross-examination as an expert witness on work capacity. Methods:,Grounded theory methodology was used to collect and analyse data. Interviews were conducted with 31 participants with direct experience of occupational therapy work capacity assessments. Of these, 19 were occupational therapists, six were medical specialists and six were lawyers. Results:,All participant groups perceived that maintaining one's credibility in the witness box was of paramount importance. The occupational therapists identified 11 strategies that barristers may use to challenge their credibility as an expert witness. Conclusions:,The three professional groups proposed practices that maintain occupational therapists' credibility as expert witnesses on the work capacity of personal injury claimants. [source]

A proposed curriculum and strategies for improving occupational therapists' report writing, court performance and expert opinion on work capacity

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008
Annie McCluskey
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Large Artery Stiffness: Implications For Exercise Capacity And Cardiovascular Risk

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2002
Bronwyn A Kingwell
SUMMARY 1. Large artery stiffness, or its inverse, compliance, determines pulse pressure, which, in turn, influences myocardial work capacity and coronary perfusion, both of which impact on exercise capacity and cardiovascular risk. 2. In support of a role for arterial properties in exercise performance, aerobically trained athletes (aged 30,59 years) have lower arterial stiffness than their sedentary counterparts. Furthermore, in healthy older subjects (aged 57,80 years), time to exhaustion on treadmill testing correlated positively with arterial compliance. 3. Arterial stiffness is more closely linked to exercise capacity and myocardial risk in patients with coronary disease where, independently of degree of coronary disease, those with stiffer proximal arteries have a lower exercise-induced ischaemic threshold. 4. Moderate aerobic training elevates resting arterial compliance by approximately 30%, independently of mean pressure reduction, in young healthy individuals but not in isolated systolic hypertensive patients. Rat training studies support a role for exercise training in structural remodelling of the large arteries. 5. High-resistance strength training is associated with stiffer large arteries and higher pulse pressure than matched controls. 6. Large artery stiffness is an important modulator of the myocardial blood supply and demand equation, with significant ramifications for athletic performance and ischaemic threshold in coronary disease patients. Moderate aerobic training, but not high-resistance strength training, reduces large artery stiffness in young individuals whereas older subjects with established isolated systolic hypertension are resistant to such adaptation. [source]

Measurement of physical work capacity in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation: a potential improvement in patient management

CLINICAL PHYSIOLOGY AND FUNCTIONAL IMAGING, Issue 6 2009
Éva Tamás
Summary Background:, Timing of surgery in aortic regurgitation (AR) is important. Exercise testing is recommended upon uncertainty about functional limitations but reports on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in populations with pure chronic AR are scarce. Method:, Twenty-eight patients referred for surgery because of chronic AR (13 in NYHA I, 10 in NYHA II and five in NYHA III) were tested by CPET pre- and 6 months postoperatively. Echocardiography, with measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), diameters (LVED, LVES) and volumes (LVEDV, LVESV) was also performed. Results:, The patients had normal LVEF pre- and postoperatively. LV diameters and volumes diminished significantly postoperatively (LVED from 67 to 57, LVES from 49 to 41 mm; P < 0·001). The majority of the patients had a ,low' physical work capacity, none of them performed better than ,average' according to Åstrand's classification preoperatively and there was no significant postoperative improvement. The mean peak oxygen uptake () was 25 ml kg,1 min,1 both pre- and postoperatively, and six of the 28 patients had a of less than 20 ml kg,1 min,1. was not significantly related to NYHA class. Conclusion:, LVEF, diameters and volumes at rest did not fulfil the criteria for surgery in most of our AR patients, of whom 46% were asymptomatic. However, many had a remarkably low work capacity, which was neither improved 6 months postoperatively nor correlated to echocardiographic LV dimensions. CPET predicted the postoperative work capacity and may, therefore, be a useful complement for timing of surgery in patients with chronic AR. [source]

Quality of life in Chinese elderly people with depression

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2006
Sally W. C. Chan
Abstract Background Depression is the most prevalent functional mental disorder of later life. It is estimated that about 5% of the elderly population of Hong Kong are suffering from depression. Aim To investigate the self-rated quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people diagnosed with depression, and to examine the relationships between quality of life and mental, physical health, functional status and social support. Methods and results A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in psychiatric outpatient clinics. A convenience sample of 80 Chinese elderly people with a diagnosis of depressive disorder was recruited. Perception of quality of life was measured by the Hong Kong Chinese World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale,Brief Version. Participants' mental status, functional abilities, physical health condition, and social support status were assessed. Sixty-one (76.3%) participants were female. They were least satisfied with ,meaningfulness of life', ,life enjoyment', ,concentration and thinking', ,energy' and ,work capacity'. Functional abilities had a positive association with participants' perceived quality of life, level of depression and number of physical health conditions had a negative association. Participants had low ratings of quality of life when compared with healthy persons and persons with chronic physical problems. Findings are discussed in light of the socio-cultural environment in Hong Kong. Conclusion Comprehensive treatment and better control of depression, including different modes of medical and psychosocial intervention, could help to improve participants' perception of quality of life. A longitudinal study with a larger sample with various levels of depression and socio-demographic characteristics is recommended. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]