Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy is associated with numerous maternal health benefits and improved quality of life (QOL). However, many pregnant women experience barriers that may limit their participation in PA. Evidence regarding the relationship between perceived barriers to physical activity (PBPA) and different dimensions of QOL during pregnancy remains limited and inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the association between PBPA and QOL among pregnant women. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 556 pregnant women aged 18–45 years attending antenatal clinics affiliated with Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a demographic and obstetric questionnaire, the Barriers to Physical Activity During Pregnancy Scale (BPAPS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF). Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess associations between PBPA and quality-of-life domains. Crude and adjusted linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between PBPA and quality-of-life outcomes after controlling for maternal age, education level, income level, number of children, and participation in prenatal education classes. PBPA were negatively correlated with all domains of QOL. The strongest correlation was observed between total barriers and the physical health domain (r = -0.47). In adjusted regression analyses, higher perceived barriers were significantly associated with lower scores in physical health (B = -0.11, 95
Environmental conditions are relevant to physical health. Associations between annual temperature metrics and subjective physical health outcomes remain insufficiently characterized across diverse populations. This study uses 273,031 pooled observations from 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study (GFS, 2023–2024), integrated with climate data from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). We analyze the relationship between Annual Mean Temperature, Annual Temperature Standard Deviation, and Overall Physical Health. We employ a unified two-stage Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) framework to compare predicted physical-health scores under annual mean temperature increases of 1 °C and annual temperature standard deviation increases of 0.1 °C. Direct contrasts hold generated symptom and behavior probabilities fixed; total contrasts update these probabilities. Uncertainty is summarized using 100 country-stratified native-grid cluster bootstrap draws that refit both stages, with fixed hyperparameters. For annual mean temperature + 1 °C, the pooled direct and total prediction contrasts are 0.00488 (95
Physical frailty is a major public health issue in aging populations, contributing to functional decline and increased healthcare costs. Although the Fried phenotype is widely used for diagnosis, it relies largely on cross-sectional assessments in controlled clinical settings and may not capture day-to-day mobility changes. Digital Mobility Outcomes (DMOs), objective measures of mobility derived from wearable sensors in daily life, may address this limitation. We therefore examined their clinical and public health utility using Leavell and Clark’s three levels of prevention. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched PubMed and Google Scholar for literature published between 2015 and 2025 that examined or informed the use of DMOs in frailty-related populations. Eligible articles included empirical studies linking DMOs to clinical outcomes, as well as methodological, validation, regulatory, protocol, and implementation studies relevant to real-world mobility assessment. We identified 928 records, removed duplicates, and screened the remaining articles in two stages. Ultimately, 23 studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the 23 studies, 2 focused on primary prevention, 2 on secondary, 8 on tertiary disease management, and 11 provided foundational evidence. Across these stages, DMOs demonstrated distinct practical applications. In primary prevention, continuous tracking of physical activity supported proactive health interventions. In secondary prevention, real-world metrics (e.g., gait speed, activity patterns, and gait variability) showed promise for detecting early signs of functional decline. For tertiary prevention, DMOs were frequently used to monitor disease progression and recovery trajectories in patients with Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hip fractures. However, several barriers limit their widespread clinical adoption, including a lack of sensor and algorithmic standardization, data privacy concerns, and low technology acceptance among older adults. DMOs are promising digital biomarkers that can complement conventional clinical assessments by continuously and objectively measuring real-world mobility. Furthermore, user-centered designs are essential to ensure equitable access and prevent digital health disparities among older populations. To integrate DMOs across the frailty management continuum, future studies must prioritize robust clinical validation and institutional infrastructure. Ultimately, accumulating such evidence will facilitate proactive and personalized public health strategies for healthy aging.
Declining fertility rates challenge urban health systems. In 2024, South Korea recorded the lowest total fertility rate (0.68) among OECD countries. Existing financial incentives have shown limited effectiveness, particularly in complex urban settings. This study examines the association between young adults’ future expectations and fertility intentions, drawing on Snyder’s Hope Theory (1994) as a conceptual lens. This quantitative study used secondary data from the nationally representative 2023 Korea Youth Life Survey. A self-reported scale assessed perceived feasibility of achieving one’s desired future. Generalized linear models (GLMs) with a Poisson distribution estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95
Sub-Saharan Africa carries two-thirds of the global HIV burden, yet the population-level impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up across different regions remains poorly quantified. We aimed to quantify the association between ART coverage and HIV incidence, mortality and prevalence across sub-Saharan Africa from 2010 to 2022. In this longitudinal ecological study, we analysed country-level data from 38 sub-Saharan African countries (494 observations) obtained from UNAIDS, the World Bank and the UNDP. We used fixed-effects panel regression models to estimate associations between ART coverage and HIV outcomes, adjusting for demographic, economic and health system covariates. Calendar-year fixed effects were included to control for secular trends. Regional interaction terms (East Africa as reference) assessed effect heterogeneity. Country-level clustered standard errors were used in all regression models. Region-specific associations were estimated as the sum of the reference coefficient and the interaction coefficient, with confidence intervals calculated using the variance-covariance matrix. Observed overall percentage changes between 2010 and 2022 were calculated with 95
