Objectives To assess physical fitness in pregnancy and to evaluate its effect on perceived health, back pain, blood pressure and duration of gestation. Also, to evaluate the effect of serum relaxin levels on blood pressure and duration of gestation. Material and methods A prospective cohort of 520 pregnant women were examined in early pregnancy and five months postpartum with regard to socio-demographic characteristics and estimated peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2 peak, est.). Serum concentrations of relaxin were carried out in early pregnancy. Physical exercise, possible back pain and blood pressure were measured repeatedly throughout pregnancy. Results Absolute V̇O2 peak, est. in early pregnancy was positively correlated to perceived health, which was lower during than after pregnancy. The average absolute V̇O2 peak, est. in early pregnancy of 2.4 l/minute was 0.02 l/minute less than the V̇O2 peak, est. postpartum, while regular physical exercise decreased throughout pregnancy. Absolute V̇O2 peak, est. in early pregnancy was not associated to the incidence of any low back pain location in pregnancy or postpartum, but inversely to intensity of back pain and diastolic blood pressure and positively with duration of gestation. Elevated serum relaxin levels were associated with decreased diastolic blood pressure and higher duration of gestation among women with miscarriage. Conclusions Perceived health, diastolic blood pressure and duration of gestation were positively affected by physical fitness while no effect was shown on the incidence of back pain. The effect of physical fitness on duration of gestation and diastolic blood pressure might have clinical implications as well as the increased serum relaxin levels on miscarriages.

BAKGRUND: Fysisk aktivitet har påvisats ha en positiv effekt på de områden i hjärnan som är kopplade till inlärning och minne. Dock är det oklart hur stor påverkan en individs fysiska kapacitetsnivå har på dessa områden. SYFTE: Syftet med studien var att undersöka ifall en intervention i form av fysisk aktivitet kan påverka arbetsminnet, och ifall en grupp individer presterar annorlunda på ett arbetsminnestest efter interventionen beroende på deras syreupptagningsförmåga. METOD: Studien hade en kvantitativ och kvasiexperimentell design utan kontrollgrupp. En grupp om 33 kvinnor, åldern 20-30 år utförde testet som bestod utav minnestestet Letter-number sequencing task före och efter 10 minuters intervention i form av submaximal ergometercykling. Samtidigt som interventionen beräknades individernas maximala syreupptagningsförmåga med hjälp av Åstrands cykelergometertest. Beroende av resultatet på cykelergometertestet delades testpersonerna in i två grupper som representerade hög/mycket hög (grupp 1) syreupptagningsförmåga respektive låg/genomsnittlig (grupp 2) syreupptagningsförmåga. RESULTAT: Medianvärdet på LNS innan interventionen var 20,5 för grupp 1 (n=20) respektive 21 för grupp 2 (n=13). Detta medianvärde förbättrades med en enhet för båda grupperna vid LNS efter interventionen. Skillnaden inom gruppresultaten före och efter interventionen var icke-signifikant med ett P-värde på 0,614 för grupp 1 och 0,891 för grupp 2. Skillnaden i förändring mellan grupperna var heller ej signifikant med ett P-värde på 0,854. KONKLUSION: Arbetsminnet påverkades inte av 10 minuters fysisk aktivitet i någon av gruppjämförelserna. En individs syreupptagningsförmåga verkar heller inte påverka arbetsminnet. / BACKGROUND: Physical activity has been shown to have a positive effect on the areas of the brain connected to learning and memory. Even so, it is uncertain how much a person’s level of physical capacity influences these areas. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine if an intervention of physical activity could affect working memory, and whether a group of people perform differently during a working memory test after the intervention depending on their oxygen uptake. METHODS: The study had a quantitive and quasiexperimental design without control group. A group of 33 women, 20-30 years of age, conducted the test which consisted of the memory test Letter-number sequencing task before and after 10 minutes of submaximal ergometer cycling. During the intervention the individual’s maximal oxygen uptake was calculated with the Åstrand cycle ergometer test. Depending on the results from the cycle ergometer test, the testsubjects was split into two groups which represented high/very high (group 1) oxygen uptake and low/average (group 2) oxygen uptake. RESULTS: The median of LNS before the intervention was 20,5 for group 1 (n=20) and 21 for group 2 (n=13). This median improved with one unit for both groups at LNS after the intervention. The difference between the results within the groups before and after the intervention proved to be non-significant with a P-value of 0,614 for group 1 and 0,891 for group 2. The difference in change between the groups was neither significant with a P-value of 0,854. CONCLUSION: Working memory was not affected of 10 minutes of physical activity in neither of the comparison between the groups. It also seems that an individual’s oxygen uptake doesn’t affect working memory.

BAKGRUND: Fysisk aktivitet har påvisats ha en positiv effekt på de områden i hjärnan som är kopplade till inlärning och minne. Dock är det oklart hur stor påverkan en individs fysiska kapacitetsnivå har på dessa områden. SYFTE: Syftet med studien var att undersöka ifall en intervention i form av fysisk aktivitet kan påverka arbetsminnet, och ifall en grupp individer presterar annorlunda på ett arbetsminnestest efter interventionen beroende på deras syreupptagningsförmåga. METOD: Studien hade en kvantitativ och kvasiexperimentell design utan kontrollgrupp. En grupp om 33 kvinnor, åldern 20-30 år utförde testet som bestod utav minnestestet Letter-number sequencing task före och efter 10 minuters intervention i form av submaximal ergometercykling. Samtidigt som interventionen beräknades individernas maximala syreupptagningsförmåga med hjälp av Åstrands cykelergometertest. Beroende av resultatet på cykelergometertestet delades testpersonerna in i två grupper som representerade hög/mycket hög (grupp 1) syreupptagningsförmåga respektive låg/genomsnittlig (grupp 2) syreupptagningsförmåga. RESULTAT: Medianvärdet på LNS innan interventionen var 20,5 för grupp 1 (n=20) respektive 21 för grupp 2 (n=13). Detta medianvärde förbättrades med en enhet för båda grupperna vid LNS efter interventionen. Skillnaden inom gruppresultaten före och efter interventionen var icke-signifikant med ett P-värde på 0,614 för grupp 1 och 0,891 för grupp 2. Skillnaden i förändring mellan grupperna var heller ej signifikant med ett P-värde på 0,854. KONKLUSION: Arbetsminnet påverkades inte av 10 minuters fysisk aktivitet i någon av gruppjämförelserna. En individs syreupptagningsförmåga verkar heller inte påverka arbetsminnet. / BACKGROUND: Physical activity has been shown to have a positive effect on the areas of the brain connected to learning and memory. Even so, it is uncertain how much a person’s level of physical capacity influences these areas. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine if an intervention of physical activity could affect working memory, and whether a group of people perform differently during a working memory test after the intervention depending on their oxygen uptake. METHODS: The study had a quantitive and quasiexperimental design without control group. A group of 33 women, 20-30 years of age, conducted the test which consisted of the memory test Letter-number sequencing task before and after 10 minutes of submaximal ergometer cycling. During the intervention the individual’s maximal oxygen uptake was calculated with the Åstrand cycle ergometer test. Depending on the results from the cycle ergometer test, the testsubjects was split into two groups which represented high/very high (group 1) oxygen uptake and low/average (group 2) oxygen uptake. RESULTS: The median of LNS before the intervention was 20,5 for group 1 (n=20) and 21 for group 2 (n=13). This median improved with one unit for both groups at LNS after the intervention. The difference between the results within the groups before and after the intervention proved to be non-significant with a P-value of 0,614 for group 1 and 0,891 for group 2. The difference in change between the groups was neither significant with a P-value of 0,854. CONCLUSION: Working memory was not affected of 10 minutes of physical activity in neither of the comparison between the groups. It also seems that an individual’s oxygen uptake doesn’t affect working memory.