Diego Moliner-Urdiales

• PhD
• Universitat Jaume I at Jaume I University

Background and objectives Obesity and physical fitness are known to be influenced by various geographic factors and ethnicity in children. However, there is limited evidence on the level to which these factors can influence very early in life, at preschool age. This study aimed to describe and compare total and central obesity and physical fitness...

Adolescents' mental health and academic performance are subjects of paramount interest. Previous studies have revealed a strong association between these constructs during school years. However, there is little evidence about the dual‐factor model of mental health, which includes a combination of psychological well‐being and distress indicators, an...

Background Previous research in adults has suggested that healthy dietary patterns could be an effective strategy for blood pressure (BP) control. However, during adolescence, the scientific literature examining this relationship is scarce and controversial since inverse and null associations have been reported. Thus, the aim of our study was to an...

Evidence from previous studies suggests that physical activity (PA) may contribute to functional and structural changes in the hippocampus throughout the lifespan. However, there is limited evidence available regarding the young adult population. Additionally, the personality traits that may influence this association remain unclear. With a sample...

Objective The aim of this study was to analyse whether the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is mediated by physical fitness components (i.e., cardiorespiratory fitness, lower-limb strength, upper-limb strength and motor competence) in adolescents. Methods This is a cross-sectional s...

Introduction The limited prior research examining the association between academic performance and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in youth did not explore the reciprocal association between these constructs, and analyzed CVD risk factors individually. Thus, the aim of the present study was to explore the bidirectional longitudinal associ...

Background: The dual-factor model of mental health (i.e., the presence of psychological well-being along with the absence of distress) and its association with academic performance over time has been barely studied in the adolescent population, as most of the prior research focuses on psychological well-being or distress indicators in isolation. T...

Some recent theories about the origins and maintenance of regular physical activity focus on the rewards of the properties of practicing this activity. Animal and human studies have demonstrated that mesolimbic dopamine plays a crucial role in the involvement in voluntary physical activity. Here, we test this possible role in a sample of 66 right-h...

This study aimed to examine the impact of reallocating time spent in waking movement behaviours at baseline on indicators of psychological distress at 24-month follow-up using isotemporal substitution regression models among a sample of Spanish adolescents. The DADOS (Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud) study is a 3-year longitudinal observational resea...

Evidence from previous studies suggests that physical activity may contribute to a functional and structural hippocampal change throughout the lifespan. However, there is little evidence available in the young adult population. In addition, the personality traits that may influence this association remain unclear. With a sample of 84 young adults (...

Background The effect of physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) on self‐confidence and interpersonal relations in adolescents is uncertain. Aim To analyzed the associations of PA and PF with self‐confidence and interpersonal relations in adolescents. Sample A total of 268 (138 boys) adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 years) from the DADOS study we...

Objective: To examine the associations of self-perceived and objectively-measured physical fitness with psychological well-being and distress indicators in young paediatric cancer survivors. Materials and methods: A total of 116 participants (12.1±3.3 years, 56.9% boys) from the iBoneFIT project participated in this cross-sectional study. Object...

Purpose Although previous evidence has suggested a relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and academic performance, the directionality of this association is understudied and remains to be clarified. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to explore the bidirectional association between HRQoL and academic performance in...

Aim To examine the association between physical activity and the cause of death with the greatest risk related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a large population-based cohort representative of the general US adult population. Methods A total of 41,726 adults suffering from T2DM (age 62 ± 14 years) and 459,660 adults without diabetes (age 46...

This study aims to analyze the mediating role of risk of depression in the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic performance in a sample of adolescents and to test the moderation effect of sex. A total of 263 adolescents (125 girls, 13.9 ± 0.3 years) from the DADOS (Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud) study were included in the anal...

Background: Previous literature showed an inverse association between physical fitness and risk of depression in adolescents, but the mechanisms involved in this association remain unclear. Aims: The primary aim of the study was to test the mediating role of self-esteem on the association between physical fitness components and risk of depression....

Objectives: Examine the validity and reliability of parent-reported International FItness Scale (IFIS) in preschool-age children. Method: A cross-sectional study of 3051 Spanish preschoolers (3-5 years). Fitness was measured by PREFIT fitness test battery and reported by parents using an adapted version of the IFIS. Waist circumference was evalu...

Background: Self-esteem is a common indicator of psychological well-being, but its relationship with physical fitness components during adolescence is not fully understood. Aims: The aims of this study were to analyse the association of physical fitness components (low vs. high) with self-esteem in adolescents, and to examine the combined influe...

Objectives The purpose of the present study is to investigate the individual and combined impact of physical fitness components at baseline on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 24-month follow-up in adolescents. Methods This longitudinal research included 199 adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 years at baseline) from DADOS study. Cardiorespiratory fi...

The aims of this study were to describe patterns of active commuting to school (ACS) of preschool children, and to analyse the relationship between ACS and family socio-economic factors. A total of 2636 families of preschoolers (3-to-5 years old) were asked to complete a questionnaire at home about the mode of commuting to school of their children...

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the individual and combined associations of physical activity, sedentary time, diet, and sleep at baseline on cardiorespiratory fitness at 24-month follow-up in adolescents. Methods: The DADOS (Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud) prospective cohort study was performed between 2015 and 2017. Analyses were c...

Purpose To investigate the individual and combined effect of physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, sleep quality, sleep duration, and screen time on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescents. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis with 262 adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 years) from DADOS (Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud) s...

This study examines trends in the rates of active commuting to school (ACS) in Spanish children (n=18,343; 8.93±1.68) and adolescents (n=18,438; 14.11±1.58) aged 6‐18 years from 2010 to 2017. Given the study period included the economic crisis in Spain (2008‐2013), the second aim of this study was to compare ACS rates during and after the economic...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, entire populations were instructed to live in home-confinement to prevent the expansion of the disease. Spain was one of the countries with the strictest conditions, as outdoor physical activity was banned for nearly two months. This study aimed to analyse the changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours in Sp...

Objective The present study aimed (1) to examine the association between circulating inflammatory biomarkers and academic performance in adolescents, and (2) to identify the ability of circulating inflammatory biomarkers to predict low academic performance. Methods A total of 244 adolescents (13.9±0.3 years, 112 girls) from the DADOS study were in...

Background Active commuting to school (ACS) is an important source to increase the total daily physical activity in youth and improve their health. How the ACS rates change along the time is of interest. The objective of this study was to examine trends in the rates of ACS in a large sample of Spanish children and adolescents aged 6–18 years from 2...

Depression is the most common mental disorder, affecting around 5% of adolescents. Physical fitness is considered a powerful marker of physical and mental health. The scientific results on the relationship between physical fitness and depression in the adolescent population are mixed. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to analyse the assoc...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of a relative age effect (RAE) on physical fitness of preschoolers. Anthropometry and physical fitness were assessed in 3147 children (3–5 years old) using the PREFIT battery. Based on the birth year, participants were divided into 3year groups (3-, 4- and 5-years). Within each year grou...

Objectives Firstly, to investigate the longitudinal associations between accelerometer-derived physical activity (PA) intensities and physical fitness (PF) at 24-month follow-up in adolescents. Secondly, to examine how substituting time spent in low or moderate PA intensities with vigorous PA at baseline was related to PF at 24-month follow-up. De...

Importance The health consequences of excessive screen media use in children and adolescents are increasingly being recognized; however, the association between screen media use and academic performance remains to be elucidated. Objectives To estimate the association of time spent on screen-based activities with specific academic performance areas...

Physical inactivity is recognized as a determinant of low physical fitness and body composition in preschool children, which in turn, are important markers of health through the lifespan. Objective methods to assess physical activity, physical fitness and body composition in preschool children are preferable; however, they have some practical limit...

Introduction: Chronic inflammation plays an important role on the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as on brain function and behaviour. The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between inflammatory biomarkers and a wide range of brain health indicators (i.e., academic performance, executive...

Objective The aims of the present study were to analyze the association of sleep patterns with academic and cognitive performance in adolescents, and to test the potential mediating effect of different activities of screen media usage on this association. Methods A sample of 269 adolescents (140 boys) aged 14 years from the baseline data of the De...

This paper presents the translation, adaptation and validation of a broadly used scale to measure emotion regulation strategies (i.e. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Children and Adolescents –ERQ-CA; Gullone & Taffe, 2012) in a sample of early adolescents. The 10-item scale was applied to a sample of 248 adolescents (128 boys) aged 13 to 14 ye...

Background: Few studies have analyzed the combined effect of lifestyle factors on academic performance (AP) in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the independent and combined effects of weight status, screen time, sleep quality, daily meal frequency, cardiorespiratory fitness, and physical activity (PA) on AP in adolescents. Method...

Adequate sleep has been positively related with health and school achievement outcomes during adolescence. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of objectively measured and self‐reported sleep duration and quality with academic and cognitive performance in adolescents. This study was conducted with 257 adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 ye...

Sleep and physical activity (PA) are fundamental behaviors for adolescents' health since they are related to optimal physical, cognitive, and emotional development. The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of the maturational development on sleep quality in adolescent girls, as well as to evaluate the daily PA level based on the level of m...

Introduction: eating disorders (ED) are complex multifactorial chronic diseases with adverse consequences on cognition in adolescence. Objectives: the main aim of the present study was to analyze the association between the risk of ED and academic performance in adolescents, considering the key role of weight status. Methods: a total of 261 adole...

We tested the mediating effect of leptin on the association between physical fitness (PF) components and academic performance indicators in healthy adolescents. A total of 263 adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 years, 47.5% girls, 12.5% overweight) from the DADOS (Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud) Study were included in the analysis. PF components were assessed...

Objectives: Reference values are necessary for classifying children, for health screening, and for early prevention as many non-communicable diseases aggravate during growth and development. While physical fitness reference standards are available in children aged 6 and older, such information is lacking in preschool children. Therefore, the purpo...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is suggested to play a key role in moderating the benefits of physical activity (PA) on cognition. Previous research found that PA may have an impact on peripheral BDNF expression. The aim of our study was to analyze the association between objectively measured PA with circulating BDNF in a group of active a...

El sueño y la actividad física (AF) son hábitos fundamentales para la salud durante la adolescencia ya que favorecen un óptimo desarrollo físico, cognitivo y emocional. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar la influencia del desarrollo madurativo sobre la calidad del sueño en niñas adolescentes, así como los niveles AF diaria según su nivel de desar...

Conclusions: Our data show that the influence of CRF on academic performance is mediated by weight status in adolescents. We suggest that our data could be considered by educators, families, and policy makers, so that active lifestyles might be promoted when designing programs aimed to improve AP among adolescents. What is Known: • Academic perfor...

Aim This study examined the association of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with academic performance and tested whether this association was mediated by sleep in Spanish adolescents. Methods We recruited 269 adolescents (52% boys) aged 13.9 ± 0.3 years from the Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud study of 38 secondary schools and sport clubs in Cast...

Objective: The aims of the present study were to analyze the association of sleep patterns with academic and cognitive performance in adolescents, and to test the potential mediating effect of different activities of screen media usage on this association. Methods: A sample of 269 adolescents (140 boys) aged 14 years from the baseline data of th...

Purpose: To analyze differences in sleep quality and duration by athletic status and sex, and to examine the association between physical activity (PA) recommendation and sleep in adolescents. Methods: A total of 267 adolescents [13.9 (0.3) y] from Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud (DADOS) study (129 girls) were included in this cross-sectional anal...

Physical fitness is a powerful marker of health in children and adolescents, and there is no reason to believe that fitness is less important in younger children, i.e., preschoolers. Our group has recently published a systematic review and methodological studies on fitness in preschoolers and has proposed the PREFIT (Assessing levels FITness in PRE...

Background and aims To determine the relationship between the risk of exercise addiction (REA) and health status in amateur endurance cyclists. Methods In 859 (751 men and 108 women) cyclists and 718 inactive subjects (307 men and 411 women), we examined the REA (Exercise Addiction Inventory), training status (volume, frequency, experience, and pe...

La regulación emocional es la capacidad para manejar las emociones de manera apropiada, modificando su intensidad y duración, por lo que se ha vinculado con el bienestar psicológico. Así mismo, la actividad física se considera beneficiosa para la salud, aunque los resultados que la vinculan con el bienestar psicológico y emocional no han sido concl...

This study had two objectives: (i) to examine individual variation in the pattern of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) release in response to high-intensity rowing exercise, and (ii) to establish whether individual heterogeneity in biomarker appearance was influenced by athletic status (elite vs. ama...

We evaluated the influence of a 14 week endurance running programme on the exercise-induced release of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Fifty-eight untrained participants were randomised to supervised endurance exercise (14 weeks, 3-4 days/week, 120-240 min/week, 65-85% of maxim...

Aim: Objective of the study was to examine the injury incidence in the Spanish Professional Soccer League, and to analyse differences between competition and training. Methods: Sport injuries data from 11 out of 22 Spanish second division soccer teams (301 players) were prospectively collected during the season 2008/2009. Results: A total of 8...

Background and Aim The body adiposity index (BAI) has been recently proposed as a new method to estimate the percentage of body fat. The association between BAI and hypertension risk has not been investigated yet. The aim of our study was to evaluate the ability of BAI to predict hypertension in males and females compared with traditional body adip...

The aim of this essay is to encourage researchers to investigate the impact of music therapy on cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite the use of music as non-pharmacological treatment in people with dementia is well established, we identified a lack of research about the cognitive effects of music therapy in AD patient...

Abstract The aim was to examine the injuries sustained by Spanish football players in the First Division and to compare injury-related variables in the context of both competition and training. The injury data were prospectively collected from 16 teams (427 players) using a specific web-based survey during the 2008/2009 season. A total of 1293 inju...

Home advantage in competitive sports is well documented despite some contradictory results. Previous studies have identified 5 main causes of home advantage in competitive sports: crowd, familiarity, travels, rules and territoriality. Moreover, several studies have proposed the influence of these factors over psychological and behavioral states in...

Objective To evaluate the association of body adiposity index (BAI) with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk. Design and Methods The current analysis comprised 19 756 adult men who enrolled in the Aerobics Centre Longitudinal Study and completed a baseline examination during 1988-2002. All-cause and CVD mortality was register...

Home advantage in competitive sports is well documented despite some contradictory results. Previous studies have identified 5 main causes of home advantage in competitive sports: crowd, familiarity, travels, rules and territoriality. Moreover, several studies have proposed the influence of these factors over psychological and behavioral states in...

Objective: To assess five years trends in total and abdominal fat in Spanish adolescents. Design: Two cross-sectional studies: adolescents from the city of Zaragoza (Spain) assessed during 2001-2002 and 2006-2007. Subjects: 399 adolescents in 2001-02 and 392 adolescents in 2006-07. Main outcome measurements: Socio-economic status was assesse...

We examined the association of cardiorespiratory fitness and fatness with health complaints and health risk behaviors in 691 (323 girls) Spanish children aged 6 to 17.9. Health complaints and health risk behaviors were self-reported using items of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children questionnaire. Weight and height were measured and body ma...

El objetivo del estudio fue analizar mediante cuestionario la formación de los preparadores físicos (PF) y las características de la planificación en los equipos masculinos españoles de élite de balonmano, baloncesto, voleibol, fútbol sala, fútbol y hockey hierba. El ratio de respuesta fue del 81,8 %. El cuestionario estaba dividido en 7 ítems: per...

We examined the role of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on the association between physical activity (PA) and abdominal fat content in adolescents. Abdominal fat content was measured by waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at 3 regions (R1, R2, and R3). PA and CRF were assessed by accelerometry and t...

The aim of this article is to examine the association between adolescents' physical activity (PA) levels and their relatives' (father, mother, brothers, sisters and best friend) PA engagement and encouragement. Adolescents (52.3% girls) aged 12.5-17.5 years were gathered from the HELENA study. Adolescents' PA levels were assessed by the Internation...

It is unclear how much physical activity is necessary to prevent obesity during adolescence. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the current physical activity guidelines for youth are associated with a lower risk of excess of body fat in European adolescents. A sample of 2094 adolescents from the HELENA cross-sectional study was select...

We analysed the secular trends in health-related physical fitness in Spanish adolescents between 2001-2002 and 2006-2007. Two representative population studies were conducted 5 years apart in adolescents (12.5-17.5 years) from Zaragoza (Spain) that participated in the AVENA study in 2001-2002 and in the HELENA-CSS study in 2006-2007. Both studies u...

The objective of this study is to analyse the association of objectively assessed physical activity (PA) with muscular strength and fat-free mass in adolescents, and to determine whether meeting the current PA recommendations is associated with higher levels of muscular strength and fat-free mass. The present cross-sectional study comprised 363 Spa...

The influence of socioeconomic status on health-related fitness is not clear. To examine the influence of socioeconomic status on health-related fitness in adolescents. A total of 3,259 adolescents (15.0 +/- 1.3 y) from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study (HELENA-CSS) participated in the study. Socioeco...

to examine the association of healthrelated physical fitness with total and central body fat in adolescents. the present cross-sectional study comprises 363 Spanish adolescents (186 female participants) aged 12.5-17.5 years. We assessed fitness by the 20-m shuttle run test (cardiorespiratory fitness); the handgrip strength, the standing broad jump...

To examine the association of objectively assessed physical activity (PA) with markers of total and central body fat in adolescents, and to determine whether meeting the current PA recommendations (> or = 60 min day(-1) of at least moderate intensity PA) is associated with reduced levels of total and central body fat. A total of 365 Spanish adolesc...

Previous studies have revealed the presence of cognitive impairment in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). However, they have not determined the possible influence of the diverse clinical variables in these disturbances. The first aim of the current study is to compare the cognitive function of 81 patients with FMS and 35 healthy controls by...

En: Psicothema Oviedo 2008, v. 20, n. 3 ; p. 427-431 Estudios previos han mostrado la presencia de alteraciones cognitivas en los pacientes con síndrome de fibromialgia (SFM), sin embargo, no han determinado la posible influencia de las distintas variables clínicas en estas alteraciones. El primer objetivo de nuestro estudio es determinar las difer...

Objective. - To determine the VO(2)max differences as well as average VO(2)max values for runners of both genders competing in various race distances at different performance level (International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) scores). Material and methods. - VO(2)max of 137 males and 53 females top-class Spain runners was measured wit a multis...