Adaptive sports could produce multiple health benefits in people with physical disabilities. The aim is to evaluate if adaptive sports practice has an influence on physical and mental quality of life. A meta-analysis was performed using electronic databases and other sources. A within- and between-group analysis for physical and mental quality of life was conducted. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was used as a measure of the mean size effect. The statistical heterogeneity, the risk of bias, and the quality of evidence were evaluated. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and four of them were included in the meta-analysis. In mental quality of life, significant differences were observed in the within-group analysis (SMD = 0.71, p < 0.001) and between people practicing adaptive sports and those not engaging in them (SMD = 0.62, p = 0.009). In physical quality of life, significant differences were also found between pre- and post-practice of adaptive sports (SMD = 1.03, p = 0.007). The engagement in adaptive sports showed a positive impact on the mental quality of life among adults with physical disabilities. However, the positive effect of adaptive sports practice on physical quality of life was shown only in the pre–post-test analysis. Further studies are required to validate the obtained findings.

Prolonged sitting has been shown to affect endothelial function. Strategies that promote interruption of sitting have shown varying results on the shear rate (SR), flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and blood flow (BF). Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to 1) increase the existing knowledge of the impact of sitting interruption in the prevention of endothelial dysfunction in adults and 2) determine the effect of the sitting interruption strategies on SR, FMD, BF. Literature search was carried out through 7 databases. A random effects model was used to provide the overall mean difference with a 95%CI, and forest plots were generated for pooled estimates of each study outcome. Assessment of biases was performed using ROB2 and considerations for crossover trials. Prolonged sitting interruption strategies showed a significant effect in increasing SR (MD: 7.58 s⁻¹; 95% CI: 3.00 to 12.17), FMD (MD: 1.74%; 95% CI: 0.55 to 2.93) and BF (MD: 12.08 ml/min; 95% CI: 7.61 to 16.55) when compared with the uninterrupted prolonged sitting condition. Prolonged sitting interruption strategies significantly increase SR, FMD and BF, therefore, they represent a considerable effective preventive method on endothelial dysfunction caused by acute exposure to uninterrupted prolonged sitting.

The aim is to evaluate the potential association between adapted sport practice and psycho-emotional functioning in adults with physical disabilities. A comparative, cross-sectional, and correlational nonexperimental study was conducted with 181 adults with physical disabilities (94 practicing adapted sport and 87 not practicing). Between-group comparisons were conducted for depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, self-esteem, self-efficacy, social skills, mindfulness, and resilience. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were also performed for each psycho-emotional variable, adjusting for percentage of disability, age, and sex and adding adapted sport practice in the second block. Significant differences were observed between groups in depression ( p = .009), stress ( p = .012), self-efficacy ( p = .009), mindfulness ( p = .009), mindfulness in physical activity ( p = .012), and resilience ( p = .020). These findings suggest that adapted sport practice is associated with several psycho-emotional indicators in adults with physical disabilities. However, the cross-sectional design does not allow for causal inferences, and longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the direction of these associations.