There is an urgent need for valid assessment tools to assess physical activity (PA) levels in adolescents with autism. This study examines the concurrent validity of the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) and Online Physical Activity Logbook (OPAL) with accelerometry in adolescents with autism. A secondary aim was to explore the association and agreement between self-perceived and objectively measured PA intensity levels.
Forty-five adolescents with autism (71% males, Mdn = 14.0 (IQR = 13.0–15.5) years) completed the PAVS and OPAL and wore a wGT3X-BT ActiGraph accelerometer twice for seven consecutive days. Concurrent validity was assessed with Spearman correlations (ρ) and Wilcoxon Signed Rank/Paired Sample T-tests.
A poor association was found between the PAVS and accelerometry (ρ = .37). The PAVS overestimated moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) levels [Mdn = 152.1 min (IQR = 76.8–283.9), p < .001]. Poor associations (ρ = −.06 up to −.45) were observed between the OPAL and accelerometry for time spent in sedentary behavior (SB), light PA (LPA), moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA) and MVPA. No significant mean and median differences were found for SB and VPA between the two methods respectively. A moderate association was found between self-perceived (OPAL) and objectively measured (accelerometry) VPA (ρ = .60) and MVPA (ρ = .51), while those for LPA and MPA were poor (ρ < .50). No significant median differences were found between self-perceived and objectively measured VPA.
Clinicians and researchers should be very cautious in using the PAVS to assess MVPA levels in adolescents with autism, while the utility of the OPAL, in its current form, is questionable. Adolescents with autism may estimate PA at a vigorous intensity accurately. Future research should further focus on examining the psychometric properties of self-report PA instruments, as well as the ability of adolescents with autism to accurately estimate the intensity of performed PA's.
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) refers to the capacity of the cardiovascular and respiratory system to process oxygen. CRF is associated with depressive symptoms and findings suggest that CRF decreased significantly in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, purchase of prescribed antidepressants before and after the pandemic lockdown by CRF level in older adults has not yet been described.
This longitudinal study included 1221 community-dwelling older adults ≥70 years old participating in the Norwegian HUNT4 Trondheim 70+ study (2018–2019). Data on estimated CRF (eCRF) were linked to the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry and utilized defined daily doses (DDDs) of antidepressants from January 2019 throughout December 2021. Paired t-tests were performed to assess changes in DDDs before and after the Norwegian COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.
Participants had a mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) age of 76.5 (5.2) years, 53.6% were women. In the total sample, the results showed a significant rise in purchase of antidepressants from before (M = 1.25, SD = 7.17) compared to after the lockdown (M = 1.52, SD = 7.86); t (1220) = −2.47, p = 0.014). The number of participants purchasing antidepressants also increased in the total sample and within each of the eCRF groups. In the different eCRF groups, only individuals in the highest eCRF tertile showed a significant higher purchase of antidepressants after the lockdown (M = 1.44, SD = 6.65); t (413) = −2.63, p = 0.009) compared to the year before (M = 0.99, SD = 5.21).
Compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the utilization of antidepressants increased in community-dwelling older adults, with the steepest increase observed among those with the highest eCRF levels.
While there is increasing evidence for the short-term effectiveness of exercise interventions for adults with anxiety disorders, follow-up studies are rare. The aim of this study was to examine whether the significant reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms observed in connection with our primary care-based 12-week exercise RCT were maintained at subsequent follow-up after nine-months. A further aim was to investigate the hypothesis whether exercise interacted with antidepressant medication.
113 out of 153 who completed the 12-week intervention completed the follow-up assessments. Symptoms were self-assessed with the Beck Anxiety Index (BAI) and the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) at baseline, intervention completion (the 12-weeks follow-up) and 9 months post-intervention (the 1-year follow up).
The reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression effects seen after 12 weeks in the intervention groups were maintained at the 1-year follow-up. Similar reductions were seen in the control group. However, among antidepressant users, the odds ratios for the intervention group to reach improvement in anxiety were four-fold, and in depression, eleven-fold compared to controls at the 1-year follow-up.
The results strengthen the view that physical exercise is an effective treatment for anxiety especially in among those with antidepressant treatment.

