The benefits of physical exercise to reduce low-grade inflammation and improve Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels and cognitive function became a growing field of interest. Low-grade inflammation is common during aging and seems to be linked to neurodegenerative process. Regular physical exercises can help to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines levels and to improve BDNF peripheral concentrations. The main goal of this research was to analyze the effects of a 16-week multimodal physical exercise program on peripheral BDNF levels and on Tumor Necrosis-α (TNF-α) and Interleukin- 6 (IL-6) as pro-inflammatory markers in cognitive healthy elderly individuals and in elderly with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Cognitive functions were assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) prior to and after the intervention. Thirty cognitively healthy participants and thirty-seven MCI participants were assigned to the control (CG) and trained (TG) groups. The TG participated in a multimodal physical training program for a 16-week period. The results showed a significant between-subjects interaction, which indicates the beneficial contribution of training on the reduction of TNF-α (p=0.001) and IL-6 (p<0.001) and on the improvement of BDNF (p<0.001) peripheral concentrations. Cognitive functions also presented significant improvements for MCI trained group (p=0.03). In conclusion, physical exercise was effective to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines and to improve BDNF peripheral levels, with positive reflexes on cognition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluated longitudinally the effects of a multimodal physical exercises protocol on peripheral concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and cognition performance in elderly MCI individuals.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of different intensities of aerobic exercise on elderly people with mild cognitive impairment.

Today the need to analyze health behaviour from a gender perspective is as imminent as ever, particularly at university, where the number of women who register is on the rise and has exceeded the number of male students worldwide. We carried out a prevalence study aimed at analyzing Spanish university students’ lifestyles and identify differences according to gender and academic discipline. Of 3,646 eligible subjects doing university courses related to health (Group A), education (Group B) and other professions (Group C), 985 (27.0%) participated in the study. Information was elicited about their physical activity level, disturbed eating attitudes, consumption of alcohol, tobacco and illegal substances. Prevalence and Odds Ratios (OR) were calculated according to sex and kind of academic discipline. The obtained data confirmed that only 27.4% of the students were considered as sufficiently active, while 14.9% of them suffered from disturbed eating attitudes (DEA). Women were particularly less active (OR 0.46 (0.32–0.66); p < 0.0001), and more sedentary than men (OR 1.40 (1.00–1.97); p = 0.03). Binge drinking was more frequent in female than in male students (OR 1.79 (1.29–2.47); p = 0.0004). A third of the analyzed sample admitted that they had used illegal substances, while a lower consumption prevalence was found in women (OR 0.53 (0.40–0.71); p < 0.0001). The studied population was not very active (27.4%), especially women (OR = 0.45). Therefore, it seems that Spanish university students lead an unhealthy lifestyle, a situation which seems more conspicuous amongst females.

El objetivo del presente trabajo es realizar un análisis descriptivo del uso problemático de Internet en estudiantes universitarios, evaluando la posible asociación con problemas de salud y conductas adictivas, así como diferencias de género en los tipos utilización. Un total de 2780 alumnos participaron en el estudio entre los años 2011 – 2014, siendo un 29% varones (edad 20.8 ± 5.1 años) y un 71% mujeres (edad de 20.3 ± 4.4 años). La prevalencia de uso problemático de Internet evaluada mediante el Internet Addiction Test fue del 6.08%. Ser menor de 21 años y cursar titulaciones diferentes a ciencias de la salud fueron factores asociados a una mayor frecuencia de este problema, no existiendo diferencias en función del sexo o tipo de domicilio. Los resultados muestran una asociación significativa con algunos problemas de salud (migrañas, dolor lumbar, sobrepeso u obesidad, descanso insuficiente), aspectos psicológicos (riesgo de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria, riesgo de trastorno mental, depresión), problemas familiares y discriminación; no encontrándose asociaciones con consumo de sustancias adictivas (alcohol, tabaco o cannabis). Respecto al tiempo de uso de Internet, las horas de conexión semanales fueron significativamente mayores en las mujeres que en los hombres, tanto en el tiempo total como por motivos de ocio. El análisis del perfil de utilización en usuarios problemáticos reveló que los varones se relacionan más con aspectos de ocio como los juegos o las compras online y las mujeres con aspectos de socialización, como el chat o las redes sociales.