(1) Background: A healthy lifestyle has a protective role against the onset and management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) are a potentially valuable prevention approach. This review aims to provide an overview of existing CLIs for the prevention and management of asthma or COPD. (2) Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycInfo. Studies were included if CLIs targeted at least two lifestyle factors. (3) Results: Among the 56 included studies, 9 addressed asthma and 47 addressed COPD management, with no studies focusing on prevention. For both conditions, the most prevalent combination of lifestyle targets was diet and physical activity (PA), often combined with smoking cessation in COPD. The studied CLIs led to improvements in quality of life, respiratory symptoms, body mass index/weight, and exercise capacity. Behavioural changes were only measured in a limited number of studies and mainly showed improvements in dietary intake and PA level. (4) Conclusions: CLIs are effective within asthma and COPD management. Next to optimising the content and implementation of CLIs, these positive results warrant paying more attention to CLIs for persons with an increased risk profile for these chronic respiratory diseases.

Sarcopenia, characterized by loss of muscle mass and strength, is common in advanced old age but can be accelerated by chronic disease, malnutrition and physical inactivity. Early initiation of intervention to achieve and maintain a higher peak muscle mass and strength may allow for prevention or delay of sarcopenia and facilitate independent living even in old age. In this context, malnutrition, a significant contributor to sarcopenia, is often overlooked among the Indian population. Maintenance of an optimal energy and protein balance with adequate physical activity level is essential to preserve physical function in the aging population. However, research on the role of micronutrients in muscle maintenance, is still in its infancy. This narrative review, therefore, aims to explore the current status of International and Indian research on the role of nutrition in sarcopenia mitigation and the way forward.

Vitamin B12 plays a vital role in neuronal development, particularly in myelinogenesis. Demyelination of the autonomic nervous system occurs early in vitamin B12 deficiency. However, the impact of maternal vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy on neuronal function in the offspring is poorly documented. The objective of this study was to assess cardiac autonomic nervous activity in children born to mothers with low vitamin B12 status during pregnancy using heart rate variability (HRV) indices in the frequency domain. Seventy-nine healthy children between 3 and 8 years of age were evaluated from an ongoing birth cohort. The blood sample of the mother had been stored and was analysed for plasma vitamin B12 following enrolment of the child. Subjects were divided, based on the median maternal first trimester vitamin B12 status (114 pmol L(-1)), into lower (n = 40) and higher (n = 39) vitamin B12 status groups. A lead II electrocardiogram was recorded in the supine posture and subjected to HRV analysis. Low-frequency HRV in absolute units was reduced significantly in children of the lower vitamin B12 status group (P = 0.03) and was 53% that of the higher vitamin B12 status group. There was a significant association between low-frequency and total power HRV with cord blood vitamin B12 levels (ρ = 0.31 and 0.30, both P = 0.03). In summary, children born to mothers with a lower vitamin B12 status have a reduced cardiac sympathetic activity. The long-term implication of this needs to be evaluated by follow-up studies.

Conventional tests of cardiac parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity were compared with the high frequency component of the heart rate power spectrum in a heterogenous group of normal subjects encompassing a wide age range. The data suggest that the linear associations between the various conventional tests of parasympathetic nervous activity even when statistically significant, were relatively modest, with r values ranging from 0.23 to 0.53. Three of the five conventional tests of parasympathetic nervous activity were significantly correlated (r = 0.33 to 0.46) with the absolute high frequency power of RR variability. However, these relationships were poorer and non-significant when the high frequency power spectrum was normalized for total power (r = 0.06 to 0.19, NS). An evaluation of the heart rate responses to cough and a single maximal hand grip indicated that the responses were repeatable but that the extent to which these manoeuvres induced vagally mediated cardioacceleration was significantly lesser than the other conventional tests of PNS activity. Taken together, the data suggest that despite the advent of heart rate variability measures, it is advisable to use multiple tests of parasympathetic nervous activity while evaluating autonomic dysfunction, since, despite the specificity of the tests, there is a variable correlation between them.

Background: Circulating microRNA (miRNA/miR) levels are emerging out as markers of tissue level changes; however, their role in type 2 diabetes (T2D) needs to be explored. The study aimed to compare the circulating levels of the miRNA (miR9, miR30d, miR1, miR133a, miR29a, miR143) between T2D and gender matched controls and also to evaluate the strength of association between circulating miRNAs and beta cell function/insulin resistance among Indians with T2D. Subjects and Methods: Thirty T2D (25–60 years) and their gender matched controls ( n = 30) were recruited. Plasma glucose and insulin, HbA1c, lipid profile, and miRNA levels were estimated. Insulin resistance and beta cell function (HOMA IR and %B) were derived. Body composition was assessed by Dual-energy-x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Comparison between the study groups was performed using independent “t” test and strength of association by Pearson's correlation. Results: There was a significant difference in HOMA IR ( P = 0.03) and %B ( P = 0.001) between the two study groups. The muscle mass, percent body fat, and muscle to fat ratio were comparable between the two study groups. miRNA 30d was significantly higher in the T2D compared to control group even after controlling for age ( P = 0.005). There was a significant positive association between miR30d with HOMA-IR ( r = 0.26, P = 0.04). Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that miR30d (insulin gene transcription in pancreatic beta cell and regulator of insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle) was overexpressed among T2D. Further role of other miRNA and their interaction in regulation of beta cell function and insulin resistance needs to be studied.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to understand the role of vitamin B12 supplementation in improving skeletal muscle function among the elderly.Methods: A literature review in the Medline database was conducted to understand the association between vitamin B12 and muscle function in Section A. In Section B, 28 healthy elderly participants aged ≥60 years were recruited in a cross‐sectional design for estimation of plasma vitamin B12 status and assessment of upper limb muscle strength Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and muscle quality (expressed as MVC/total muscle mass). Participants were grouped based on vitamin B12 status into vitamin B12‐depleted (<148 pmol/L) and replete (≥148 pmol/L) groups. In a quasi‐experimental study design, the vitamin B12‐depleted group (n = 14) received daily oral vitamin B12 supplementation of 100 μg for 3 months. All the study measures were repeated post‐supplementation.Results: Vitamin B12 deficiency was identified to contribute adversely to muscle strength, quality, and physical performance among older people in the extensive literature review. The pilot intervention study showed significant improvement in MVC and muscle quality (p < 0.050) post‐vitamin B12 supplementation, comparable to the vitamin B12‐replete group.Conclusions: Vitamin B12 may have a crucial role in the maintenance of muscle function. 3‐month oral vitamin B12 supplementation among subclinical vitamin B12 deficient elderly improved muscle strength and quality and reached levels similar to the vitamin B12 replete group.