Background: Stress and sedentary lifestyles negatively impact the physical fitness of overweight and obese female university students. Physical activity has been shown to promote psychological as well as physical wellness. However, the effects of Surya Namaskar (SN) yoga on stress and physical fitness remain unclear. Objective: This study aimed to compare the physical fitness, anthropometric measures, and perceived stress between the SN yoga training program group and the control group. Methods: In a randomized controlled study, 44 overweight and obese female university students participated. For 8 weeks, the exercise group received training in SN yoga, whereas the control group was not permitted to participate in any form of exercise. At baseline and after 8 weeks of training, all participants completed the Thai Perceived Stress Scale-10 (T-PSS-10), and assessed the body mass index (BMI), waist–hip ratio, body fat percentage, maximum oxygen consumption (VO₂max), and muscle strength and flexibility. We used the dependent t-test or Wilcoxon sign rank test to examine the differences between the T-PSS-10 and physical fitness within each group. The statistical differences of all parameters between the two groups were compared using an independent t-test or a Mann–Whitney U test. A p-[ ] was considered statistically significant. Results: Compared to the baseline, the SN yoga group’s post-training period had a significant increase ([ ]) in forward back flexibility, hand grip strength, leg strength, and VO₂max, while a significant decrease ([ ]) in T-PSS-10 scores and BMI. In addition, we found a significant difference between the both groups in forward back flexibility and T-PSS-10 scores in the post-training period ([ ] and [ ], respectively). Conclusion: This study’s findings demonstrated that SN yoga is a useful exercise for enhancing overweight and obese female university students’ perceived stress scales and physical fitness.

Early detection of decline in neurobehavioral (NB) performance requires reliable methods of testing. Although NB tests have been shown to be consistent and reliable in Western countries, there has been limited research in Asian populations. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the test-retest reliability of NB tests in a Thai adult population and examine the impact of demographic data on NB tests. The aspects of the tests chosen were memory, attention, hand-eye coordination, motor speed, and dexterity. Methods: The three NB tests used were digit span, Purdue Pegboard, and visual-motor integration. All three were administered to a population of 30 Thai adults. Results: The outcomes of all Pearson’s correlation coefficient tests (r) were positive and greater than 0.60, and subtest-retest reliability correlation coefficients ranged from 0.63 (p<0.001) to 0.81 (p<0.001). Interestingly, the outcomes of all of these tests were not affected by demographic data, with the exception of the Purdue Pegboard test, in which performance on the preferred hand and both hands assessment was weakly associated with age (β=-0.09, p<0.001 and β=-0.08, p<0.05, respectively). Conclusions: NB tests have adequate reliability and are useful for the evaluation of clinical memory, attention, hand-eye coordination, motor speed, and dexterity in Thai adults. These tests were not affected by demographic data. However, further studies to measure the validity of the digit span, Purdue Pegboard, and visual-motor integration tests are needed.

Background: This study aims to identify the factors related to demographic variables and physical performance associated with quality of life (QoL) in post-COVID-19 pa-tients who have recovered from mild infection and were not hospitalized. Methods: Seventy-four post-COVID-19 individuals who recovered from mild COVID-19 infec-tion were assessed for the baseline demographic variables (age, sex, height, weight, body mass index; BMI) and clinical information (comorbidities, duration of COVID-19 infection, and exercise habits). Vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen sat-uration; SpO₂) were measured. Physical performance was evaluated for upper- and lower-limb muscle strength, ability of balance, and cardiorespiratory performance. All participants were assessed for QoL. Results: Hand grip strength was negatively asso-ciated with gender and age while positively associated with the duration of COVID-19. Quadricep strength also showed a negative association with gender and duration of COVID-19. Age was positively associated with multiple quality of life dimensions, while emotional role limitations were negatively associated with the duration of COVID-19 and waist circumference. Mental health was negatively linked to BMI. Conclusions: This study highlights the complex impact of COVID-19 on physical per-formance and QoL, revealing that older adults often report better QoL despite reduced muscle strength, particularly in women. The findings emphasize the need for targeted rehabilitation programs addressing both physical and emotional health for vulnerable groups.

Background: This cross-sectional study reports exploratory observations on respiratory symptom patterns in individuals with prior coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), evaluating associations with exercise habits, number of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection episodes, vaccine doses received, body mass index (BMI), age, sex, and comorbidities. Methods: A total of 240 participants were assessed for age, sex, height, weight, BMI, comorbidities, SARS-CoV-2 infection episodes, vaccine doses received, and exercise habits; the self-reported duration of symptomatic periods was summarized descriptively and was not modeled as an exposure or outcome. Results: Compared with the first SARS-CoV-2 infection episode (reference), patients who experienced a second episode had higher odds of dyspnea (adjusted odds ratio; OR = 7.61; 95% confidence interval CI = 1.54–37.66). In univariate analysis, patients who received three vaccine doses had lower odds of dyspnea than those who received two doses (OR = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.16–0.98), but this association was not significant after adjustment (adjusted OR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.13–1.63). After adjustment, patients who exercised had lower odds of secretion compared with those who did not (adjusted OR = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.12–0.73). Conclusions: These cross-sectional, hypothesis-generating observations suggest higher adjusted odds of dyspnea among individuals with repeat infection and lower adjusted odds of sputum among those reporting regular exercise; estimates are imprecise and subject to residual confounding due to unbalanced group sizes. Confirmation in larger, longitudinal cohorts is required.

This study aimed to identify personal, occupational, and health-related factors associated with lung function among farmers. A total of 102 farmers were recruited. Participants were assessed for personal characteristics (sex, age, height, weight, body mass index; BMI), occupational characteristics (pesticide use and duration of pesticide use), and health-related information, including exercise habits, underlying medical conditions, history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection (timing and duration), and COVID-19 vaccination history. Lung function outcomes included forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), and FEV₁/FVC ratio. For FVC (% predicted), increasing age was associated with lower FVC (B = -0.302, p = 0.033). For FEV₁ (% predicted), female sex was associated with lower FEV₁ compared with male sex (B = -6.167, p = 0.037), and a history of COVID-19 infection was associated with reduced FEV₁ (B = -8.573, p = 0.002). For FEV₁/FVC (% predicted), a history of COVID-19 infection was associated with a lower ratio (B = -7.320, p = 0.026). A history of COVID-19 infection is associated with reduced lung function, reflected in both lung volume (FVC) and airflow (FEV₁), and it may also be related to a lower FEV₁/FVC ratio. In addition, age and BMI were contributors to lower.