Table 3.
Cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal outcomes with adjusted between-group differences and quantitative and qualitative inferencesa
| Intervention | Control | Adjusted change 0 to 8 week (95 % CI)b | Probability (%) the true effect is beneficial / trivial / harmful | Qualitative inference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 8 week | Baseline | 8 week | ||||
| Vascular (n = 24 I, 19 C) | |||||||
| FMD (%) | 5.98 (2.32) | 7.13 (2.42) | 5.88 (2.29) | 6.13 (2.64) | 0.97 (−0.55 to 2.50) | 75/22/3 | Benefit likely |
| cIMT (mm) | 0.62 (0.07) | 0.61 (0.07) | 0.58 (0.08) | 0.57 (0.08) | 0.00 (−0.03 to 0.02) | 13/84/3 | Likely trivial |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 119.1 (13.8) | 117.1 (12.5) | 117.9 (12.1) | 117.3 (9.0) | −1.6 (−7.0 to 3.7) | 22/71/7 | Unclear |
| Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 73.5 (7.6) | 68.9 (8.5) | 71.8 (10.7) | 70.5 (9.5) | −2.5 (−7.2 to 2.2) | 62/35/3 | Benefit possible |
| Blood (n = 20 I, 17 C) | |||||||
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 5.30 (0.79) | 4.59 (0.84) | 4.85 (0.62) | 4.49 (0.55) | −0.09 (−0.56 to 0.39) | 37/49/14 | Unclear |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.65 (0.70) | 1.61 (0.74) | 1.61 (0.64) | 1.65 (0.73) | 0.11 (−0.23 to 0.45) | 6/55/39 | Unclear |
| Cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.45 (0.98) | 3.79 (1.05) | 3.94 (0.86) | 3.78 (0.74) | −0.40 (−0.79 to −0.003)* | 82/18/0 | Benefit likely |
| Musculoskeletal discomfort/painc (n = 25 I, 21 C) | |||||||
| Lower back | 2.5 (2.2) | 1.8 (2.0) | 2.0 (2.0) | 1.7 (1.8) | −0.2 (−1.0 to 0.7) | 35/50/15 | Unclear |
| Upper back | 1.9 (2.3) | 1.1 (1.7) | 1.2 (1.5) | 1.6 (2.3) | −0.9 (−1.9 to 0.2) | 83/16/1 | Benefit likely |
| Neck and shoulder | 2.6 (2.5) | 1.9 (2.4) | 2.1 (2.0) | 2.2 (2.4) | −0.6 (−1.5 to 0.2) | 63/36/1 | Benefit possible |
I intervention group, C control group, FMD flow-mediated dilation, cIMT carotid intima-media thickness, BP blood pressure
aBaseline and 8-weeks values are unadjusted mean (SD)
bChange scores and 95 % CIs are the differences between groups (relative to control) after adjustment by ANCOVA for the baseline value. Triglycerides ANCOVA additionally adjusted for marital status, time at current workplace and job category
cValues denote the severity of discomfort or pain from 0 (No discomfort) to 10 (Extremely uncomfortable)
*Significant (p = 0.049)