BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) promotes cardiovascular health and health related quality of life (HRQoL), although the effect of that on blood pressure (BP) control has rarely been studied in hypertensive subjects. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a PA intervention programme on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, HRQoL and BP control in hypertensive subjects.MethodsA randomized clinical trial, with a PA intervention programme of 9 months duration, comprising a walking group of 120 min/week, supervised, and with socio-cultural activities. Participants were 207 hypertensive subjects (68.2 years, 76.8% women). PA (IPAQ-s), diet, CVD risk, BP, BMI, smoking, and HRQoL (SF-36) were assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Changes in CVD risk and in HRQoL during the intervention was calculated (end-baseline score). Multivariate models were applied.ResultsIn multivariate models, the PA intervention programme, with no modification of the diet, decreased CVD risk (− 1.19 points) and the systolic BP (− 8.68 mmHg), and increased some areas of HRQoL (4.45 to 14.62 points). An increase in the percentage of subjects with controlled BP was observed by the PA programme itself (OR 5.395 to 5.785 according to multivariate models), and by the changes during the intervention in the decrease in CVD risk (OR 0.609) and in the increase in the HRQoL in physical component summary (OR 1.041), role physical (OR 1.010), and bodily pain (OR 1.014), independently of controlled BP at baseline.ConclusionsThis PA intervention programme improved cardiovascular health and HRQoL, and favoured BP control in primary care users with hypertension.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov ID NCT02767739; Trial registered on May 5th, 2016. Retrospectively registered.

BackgroundPhysical activity is a major, modifiable, risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) that contributes to the prevention and management of CVD.The aim of this study was to assess the short- and medium-term effectiveness of 9 months of a supervised physical activity program, including sociocultural activities, on CVD risk in adults.MethodsMulticentered, randomized, controlled community intervention involving 364 patients in four primary care centers. The participants were randomly assigned to a Control Group (CG = 104) or Intervention Group (IG = 260); mean age 65.19 years; 76.8% women. The intervention consisted of 120 min/week walking (396 METs/min/week) and sociocultural gathering once a month. Clinical history, physical activity, dietary intake, CVD risk factors (smoking, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, BMI, total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, glycosylated hemoglobin and glucose) and global CVD risk were assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention and multivariate models were applied to the data. Incidence of adverse cardiovascular events and continued adherence to the physical activity were assessed 2 years after intervention.ResultsAt the end of the intervention period, in the IG relative to the CG group, there was a significant increase in physical activity (774.81 METs/min/week), a significant change during the intervention period in systolic blood pressure (−6.63 mmHg), total cholesterol (−10.12 mg/dL) and LDL-cholesterol (−9.05 mg/dL) even after adjustment for potential confounders. At 2 years after the intervention, in the IG, compared with the CG, tthe incidence of adverse cardiovascular events was significantly lower (2.5% vs. 10.5%) and the adherence to regular physical activity was higher (72.8% vs 27.2%) in IG compared to CG.ConclusionsThis community-based physical activity program improved cardiovascular health in the short- as well as medium-term, and promoted regular physical activity in the medium-term in older Spanish adults.Trials registration Clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT02767739. Trial registered on May 5th, 2016. Retrospectively registered

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Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction continues to pose problems for structures on shallow foundations. One particular problem is the excessive settlement that such structures undergo as a consequence of earthquake shaking. For design and insurance purposes it is therefore necessary to be able to estimate the magnitude of these settlements. Current procedures relate the potential settlement to foundation size and liquefiable depth. However, the influence of foundation bearing pressure is also a significant factor. In particular, experimental results have indicated that large bearing pressures may inhibit liquefaction underneath a shallow foundation, resulting in lower induced settlement. By collecting new data from 23 buildings that suffered settlement and tilting as a consequence of soil liquefaction during the 27 February 2010 Maule earthquake in Chile, the existing method of estimating liquefaction-induced settlement is reassessed and shown to require bearing pressure information. Based on both the new and previously available data, a maximum potential settlement based on both foundation area and bearing pressure is proposed.