Emily Strunk
March Research Article
Header: Manuel A. Gomez-Marcos et al., (2014). Relationship between Physical Activity and Plasma Fibrinogen Concentrations in Adults without Chronic Diseases. PloS One, Volume 9, 1-7.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between regular physical activity, as assessed by accelerometer and 7-day physical activity recall (PAR), and plasma fibrinogen concentrations.
Rationale: Previous research concluded that plasma fibrinogen concentrations were associated with cardiovascular as well as non-cardiovascular deaths, but the results were not abundantly clear when other cardiovascular risk factors were taken into account. Fibrinogen concentrations were also taken into account to determine classic risk factors for cardiovascular disease over a 10 year time period. Unfortunately all of the previous research studies examined the physical activity relationship with fibrinogen by a subjective questionnaire, which is not always the most accurate type of study.
Variables: Several variables were measured including body weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, body fat percentage, fasting plasma glucose, creatinine, uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, glycated hemoglobin, fibrinogen concentrations, insulin concentration, blood pressure, and physical activity.
Sample: Patients ranged in age from 20-80 years old and were selected be a random sampling of 6 different health care facilities. There were a total of 1284 subjects used for this study in total. Patients were excluded if they had known coronary or cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, moderate or severe COPD, advanced respiratory, renal, or hepatic disease, severe mental diseases, terminally ill patients, oncological disease diagnosed over the last 5 years, and pregnant women.
Procedures: Most of the variables measured were done in the lab using common techniques or from a blood sample including body...