Physical activity behaviors and post exercise autonomic function in people living with HIV.

摘要

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) now have almost similar life expectancy as the general population. However, as PLWHA live longer, the risk of cardiovascular diseases in this population has increased, frequently occurring prematurely. Physical inactivity and poor autonomic function, contributory risk factors for cardiovascular disease, appear to be prevalent in PLWHA. Thus, this dissertation aimed to examine physical activity and autonomic function in PLWHA.;The first study was a cross-sectional survey study assessing the physical activity behaviors and the associations between physical activity and common chronic diseases in urban dwelling PLWHA from the 25 urban centers with the highest rates of HIV in the United States. This study showed that a majority of urban dwelling PLWHA reported high levels of physical activity, including muscle strengthening exercise. In addition, sitting time in our sample was high and there was a high prevalence of chronic diseases. Diabetes mellitus was associated with lower total volume of physical activity. Similarly, having a depression diagnosis was negatively associated with muscle strengthening exercise participation.;The second study was a cross-sectional study looking to determine 1) whether PLWHA have worsened autonomic responses at rest and after exercise compared with non-PLWHA control participants, and 2) whether active PLWHA have enhanced resting and post-exercise autonomic responses compared with insufficiently active PLWHA. This study showed that active PLWHA had greater post exercise parasympathetic reactivation (HRV) during the 10 minutes immediately after peak exercise than insufficiently active PLWHA. In addtion, heart rate recovery within the 60 to 120 seconds after the exercise was delayed in both active PLWHA and insufficiently active PLWHA compared with healthy controls.;These studies show that while a large proportion of participants classified as sufficiently active, PLWHA have a high prevalence of physical and mental health problems. Further, those who do not perform sufficient physical activity and muscle strengthening exercise have poorer health. Furthermore, physical activity is associated with enhanced autonomic function at rest and during recovery after exercise in PLWHA. These results support the beneficial effects of physical activity in PLWHA.