Sandra Haider

• PhD
• Medical University of Vienna

Introduction This review aimed to investigate the effects of chronic exercise on depression severity and various depressive symptoms in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) including older adults with an average age of at least 60 years and a minimum level of mild depression. Thereby, the moderating effects of various intervention and individual cha...

Digital marketing of unhealthy foods is linked to childhood obesity. This study evaluated nutrient quality and creative strategies of food cues on social media, focusing on child/youth influencers, to inform the ongoing digital media regulatory debate. Using the WHO’s Monitoring of Marketing of Unhealthy Products to Children and Adolescents protoco...

Frailty is associated with adverse health outcomes in ageing populations, yet its long-term effect on the development of disability is not well defined. The study examines to what extent frailty affects disability trajectories over 15 years in older adults aged 50+. Using seven waves of data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europ...

Background Difficulties in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in older adults are associated with diminished quality of life and increased demand for long-term care. The present study examined the prevalence of disability among individuals aged 65 years and older in Austria, using data from the Austr...

Introduction There is high evidence that chronic exercise benefits overall depression severity in older adults. However, late-life depression is characterized by considerable heterogeneity in clinical manifestation emphasizing the need for more individualized exercise intervention programs. Therefore, the objective of the proposed review is to inve...

Background: Therapeutic climbing (TC) has emerged as a prospective rehabilitation approach for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The existing literature primarily focuses on the physical and psychological benefits of TC across diverse populations but is limited concerning its application and efficacy for patients with MS. Objectives: This s...

Cancer is one of the most pressing global health issues, and populations with complex needs, such as people experiencing homelessness, have higher cancer incidence and mortality rates compared with the housed population. We mapped the evidence on cancer risk factors as well as barriers and facilitators to cancer prevention services among people exp...

This article explores the factors influencing the choice of general practitioners (GPs) and their role in the health care of vegans in Austria. The number of people identifying as vegan is on the rise, and GPs are increasingly confronted with vegan patients. A qualitative method was chosen for this study, and 14 semi-structured interviews with vega...

Introduction: Europe’s population is growing older, a trend that is projected to continue. Increased life expectancy means, older individuals are at risk of falls, hip fractures, long-term health conditions, re-hospitalization, which leads to the possibility of increased time spent in poor health. Hence, it is paramount to identify the diverse fact...

Background Students enrolling in higher education often adopt lifestyles linked to worse mental health, potentially contributing to the peak age onset of mental health problems in early adulthood. However, extensive research is limited by focusing on single lifestyle behaviors, including single time points, within limited cultural contexts, and foc...

Background: Therapeutic climbing (TC) has emerged as a prospective rehabilitation approach for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Existing literature primarily focuses on the physical and psychological benefits of TC across diverse populations but is limited concerning its application and efficacy for patients with MS. Objectives: This study...

Background People experiencing homelessness (PEH) are significantly more likely to develop and die from cancer than the housed population. Major factors influencing outcome are timely detection and treatment, which especially populations with complex needs lack access to. This scoping review outlines cancer risk factors among PEH and their facilita...

Health effects of vegan diets among children and adolescents are a controversial public health topic. Thus, the aim of the present systematic review is to evaluate a broad range of health outcomes among vegan children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years. 18 studies met the inclusion criteria (17 cross-sectional, 1 RCT). Meta-analyses showed lower pr...

Introduction: Homelessness is a complex social issue that significantly impairs the health of those affected. People experiencing homelessness (PEH) have a higher prevalence of adverse health outcomes, including premature mortality, compared with the general population, with cancer being the second-leading cause of death. The objective of this sco...

BACKGROUND Apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE ε4) has been associated with cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD), but little is known about its relationship with motor and other non‐motor symptoms, and whether APOE ε4 retains an influence on cognition when other factors are considered. OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of APOE ε4 on motor/non‐motor...

Health effects of vegan diets among children are a controversial public health topic. Thus, we evaluated a broad range of health outcomes among vegan children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years by a systematic review and meta-analyses. 17 studies met the inclusion criteria (16 cross-sectional studies, one randomized trial). Meta-analyzes showed low...

A balanced diet and sufficient physical activity (PA) are known to have positive health effects. The relationship between a vegan diet and PA levels is understudied. This cross-sectional online survey aimed to analyze whether different vegan dietary patterns differ in PA. In total, 516 vegan participants were included (June to August 2022). Differe...

In older adults sexuality is often a taboo topic focusing on sexual dysfunction and is seldom seen as something that contributes to one’s general well-being and health. A healthy lifestyle with sufficient physical activity, a healthy diet, an absence of smoking, and none to moderate alcohol consumption are significant ways of promoting and supporti...

Low fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake, sedentary behavior, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking are risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases. This study describes the patterns and factors of nutrition (F&V and alcohol intake), physical activity (PA), obesity, and other chronic diseases of 10,053 adult farmers (52.7% female...

Background: Obesity is associated with adverse health consequences throughout life. Monitoring obesity trends is important to plan and implement public heath interventions adapted to specific target groups. We aimed to analyze the development of obesity prevalence in the Austrian population using data from the most recent representative Austrian H...

Contemporary performance and accessibility are features that enable mobile devices to be increasingly beneficial in the context of optimizing the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Smartphones have the potential to effectively support psychotherapeutic interventions among adolescents and young adults who require them. In the present study, the use...

Background: Not smoking, performing >150 min of aerobic physical activity (PA) and muscle strengthening exercises/week, and consuming >5 portions of fruit and vegetables/day are lifestyle recommendations for both the general population and people with diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: A total of 15,771 and 15,461 persons from the Austrian Health...

Measures implemented to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 have resulted in a decrease in physical activity (PA) while sedentary behaviour increased. The aim of the present study was to explore associations between PA and mental health in Austria during COVID-19 social restrictions. In this web-based cross-sectional study (April–May 2020) moderate-to-...

Background Frailty is a geriatric syndrome closely linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes. Thus, it is important to identify factors associated with the development of frailty. It was the aim of this study to examine, if, and to what extent partner loss, a highly stressful life event, affects frailty trajectories of community dwelling adult...

Background: Little is known about the implementation of lifestyle interventions in frail, community-dwelling people. This study highlights different domains of adherence to explain an effectively delivered home-based intervention. Methods: Eighty prefrail and frail persons (≥65 years) participated in a physical training, nutritional, and social...

Objectives: To apply syndemic theory to investigate the risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the US population. Methods: National representative data were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We extracted and aggregated data on HCV antibody test, sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol and drug use, depression, sexu...

Background: The performance of physical activity (PA) in different domains varies between different occupational groups and they contribute differently to the prevention and management of chronic diseases. This study aimed to give a fuller picture of the potential influence occupational categories have on the different domains of PA among the Austr...

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease, which is associated with low levels of physical activity (PA). However, the factors related to low physical activity levels have rarely been studied. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 70 seropositive RA patients were included. Physical activity was objectively assessed wit...

Background: Reports of the effectiveness of e-cigarettes (ECs) for smoking cessation vary across different studies making implementation recommendations hard to attain. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the current evidence regarding effectiveness of ECs for smoking cessation. Methods: PubMed, PsycInfo and Embase datab...

Background Depressive symptoms and lack of physical activity (PA) often occur simultaneously, since depression, associated with listlessness can lead to lack of PA, and lack of PA, associated with poor quality of life and health satisfaction can lead to depressive symptoms. Both factors are independent risk factors for a higher health care utilisat...

Background Reports of the effectiveness of e-cigarettes (ECs) for smoking cessation vary across different studies making implementation recommendations hard to attain. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesise the current evidence regarding the effectiveness of ECs for smoking cessation. Methods PubMed, PsycInfo and Embase d...

Zusammenfassung Ziel der Studie Ziel dieser Analyse war es, Zusammenhänge zu untersuchen zwischen Personen, die die ausdauerorientierten Bewegungsempfehlungen erfüllen und dem Wissen um die Bewegungsempfehlungen, die wahrgenommene bewegungsförderliche Kultur und Umgebung sowie den Gesundheitszustand getrennt nach Bundesländern. Methodik Für die Ana...

Objectives The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of nutritional supplementation on neuropsychiatric symptoms among people with dementia. Methods/Design Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in the Databases PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Clinicaltrials.gov from inception until...

Background: There has been growing concern over the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in recent years. Although advocated as an aid to smoking cessation, there is increasing evidence of harm not just to the respiratory system, but to all other organs in the body. To give a clearer picture on how e‑cigarettes can affect our health, we gat...

The increasing popularity of electronic cigarettes in past decades has aroused public health concern. This study aims to review the literature on the prevalence of e-cigarette use among the general adult and young populations in Europe. We searched Medline and Google Scholar from September 2019, and included "prevalence of e-cigarettes", "electroni...

Introduction Physical activity is likely to be associated with sexual activity. However, to date, there is no literature on the relationship between overweight/obesity and sexual activity outcomes. Aim Thus, the present study assessed the associations among physical activity, sedentary behavior, and weight status with sexual activity and number of...

Depressive symptoms and lack of physical activity are independent factors that lead to higher health care utilisation, often occurring simultaneously. We aimed to assess the effects of depressive symptoms, lack of aerobic physical activity (PA), and the combination of those factors on the probability of using in-and outpatient health care services...

Background Given the high burden and prevalence of depression, various guidelines underscore the role of healthcare providers in supplying advice on physical activity (PA) as a potential modifying factor influencing the incidence and severity of depressive symptoms in adults. We aimed to investigate the extent to which healthcare providers provide...

Background Frailty is a geriatric syndrome characterised by sarcopenia, malnutrition, and chronic inflammation that leads to adverse health outcomes including dependency, low quality of life, and higher risk for morbidity and mortality. It was the aim of this study to examine the relationship between frailty status and risk of all-cause and cause-s...

Background Frailty, a geriatric syndrome, is associated with many adverse health outcomes. Risk factors include physical inactivity, low protein intake and an inadequate social network. In this analysis we aimed to assess the influence of these factors and their combination in an 11-year-follow-up study on a Europe-wide level. Methods The analysed...

Background: Frailty is a geriatric condition associated with adverse health outcomes. As physical inactivity, low protein intake and poor social network are known risk factors, we aimed to assess the influence of these parameters and their interaction in an 11-year follow-up study on a Europe-wide level. Methods: Data from the Study on Health, A...

Objectives To describe the pattern of health care providers' advice on lifestyle modification to older adults, and identify correlates of receiving such advice. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting and participants Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey study from 2007-2016 on adults ≥65 years (n = 3758) were analyzed. Met...

Background: Our aim was to assess both the credibility and strength of evidence arising from systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies and physical health outcomes associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but not acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Methods: We performed an umbrella review of observational studies....

The aim of the present study is to use the syndemic framework to investigate the risk of contracting HIV in the US population. Cross-sectional analyses are from The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We extracted and aggregated data on HIV antibody test, socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol use, drug use, depression, sexual beh...

Objective The prevalence of frailty has been widely researched in the elderly population. However, data about people of working age are scarce. The aim of this paper was to assess the prevalence of prefrailty and frailty in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of working age, and to assess factors associated with prefrailty/frailty. Methods In this m...

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between frailty status and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study with an 11-year follow up. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Data from the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used. In the analysis, we included data from 11 European countries. We...

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) impacts stroke recovery and outcome negatively. Although its identification and treatment are part of the current stroke guidelines, standard management with positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy is not routinely performed and adherence rates are very low. The purpose of this study was to determine whether...

Background: Tablet technology is a promising tool for assisting therapeutic strategies in stroke rehabilitation. However, it is not clear whether the basic gestures (e.g. click, double-click) are feasible. Objective: This study aimed to assess the successful performance of gestures and associated factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study wa...

Background: Frailty is a geriatric syndrome, which is highly prevalent in community-dwelling older adults and is associated with a variety of unwanted health outcomes, including dependency and institutionalization. Physical activity (PA) interventions may be of great importance in frail people to improve the frailty status, muscle strength, physica...

Aim Previous research suggests that multicomponent interventions including physical training, and nutritional and social support are required to improve a person's behavior. As a pre‐specified secondary outcome, this analysis aimed to ascertain whether a “buddy‐style” intervention could produce physical activity and nutritional behavior changes in...

Magnesium plays a crucial role in hundreds of bodily processes relevant to aging, but consumption of dietary magnesium intake has been shown to be inadequate in a large proportion of older adults. Identifying groups at risk of low magnesium intake is important for informing targeted advice. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examinat...

Objective Healthcare providers are encouraged to prescribe lifestyle modifications for preventing and managing obesity and associated chronic conditions. However, the pattern of lifestyle advice provision is unknown. We investigate the prevalence of advised lifestyle modification according to weight status and chronic conditions in a US nationally...

Background We report on the correlation between the proportion of people who fulfil the recommended amount of aerobic physical activity in the general population and the prevalence of frailty or prefrailty in the population ≥65 years in 11 European countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia, S...

We aimed to assess the subjective sleep quality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its correlation with disease activity, pain, inflammatory parameters, and functional disability. In a cross-sectional study, patients with confirmed RA diagnosis responded to a questionnaire (consisting of socio-demographic data, the Health Assessment Que...

Study objectives: To study the feasibility and accuracy of home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a stroke rehabilitation unit. Methods: Stroke patients referred to a neurorehabilitation center underwent OSA screening by means of HSAT within the Home Polygraphic Recording with Telemedicine Monitoring...

Objective: To measure health effects in lay volunteers who made home visits consisting of social interaction, nutritional and physical exercise interventions to pre-frail and frail older people (trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01991639). Methods: After baseline, participants were followed-up at 12 (V1) and 24 (V2) weeks. A one-repetiti...

Objective The aim of the present study was to assess the association between muscle strength, lower extremity function, employment status, and work ability in RA patients. Methods One hundred seropositive RA outpatients of working age were included in this cross-sectional study. Employment status was assessed by interview and work ability by the W...

The aim of this study was to examine sexual health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to analyse factors associated with sexual health with a focus on physical fitness. One hundred RA patients aged between 18 and 65 years were included in a cross-sectional study. Handgrip strength and knee extensor strength were measured with a dynamom...

Introduction Meta-analyses report that more than 50% of patients who had a stroke suffer from moderate to severe sleep apnoea (SA), with adherence rates to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy of only 30%. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether PAP adherence in patients who had a stroke with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) can...

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of home visits with physical training and nutritional support on inflammatory parameters to home visits with social support alone within a randomized controlled trial. Prefrail and frail persons received home visits from lay volunteers twice a week for 12 weeks. Participants in the physical training a...

Dataset from the Medical University of Vienna. (SAV)

Impact of a home-based physical and nutritional intervention program conducted by lay-volunteers on handgrip strength in prefrail and frail older adults: A randomized control trial. (PDF)

Background Due to the demographic ageing process and the increasing number of pre-frail and frail individuals, new lifestyle interventions to enhance the quality of life (QoL) in community-dwelling older adults are necessary. Therefore, we performed a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to compare effects of a lay-led home-based physical and nutritio...

A randomized controlled trial was performed to compare the effects of a home-based physical and nutritional intervention program carried out by lay-volunteers to home visits with social support alone. Buddies visited 80 prefrail or frail older persons at home twice a week for 12 weeks. The physical training and nutrition group (PTN, n = 39) perform...

Study protocol. (PDF)

Dataset. Dataset from the Medical University of Vienna. (SAV)

Consort checklist. (DOC)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the associations between daily physical activity (DPA), handgrip strength, appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) and physical performance (balance, gait speed, chair stands) with quality of life in prefrail and frail community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Prefrail and frail individuals were inc...

Background Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that carries an increased risk for poor health outcomes. Therefore it must be a public health priority. The common initial manifestation of frailty is weakness (low grip strength). As frailty might be reversible, the aim of the study was to examine the effects of a physical training and nutritiona...

Background: In older adults, fear of falling (FOF) leads to a decline in daily physical activity quality of life and an increased risk of falling. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to assess the effects of a 12-week home-based intervention program carried out by lay volunteers on FOF in frail older adults. Methods: Thirty-nine part...

Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a home-based and volunteer-administered physical training and nutritional intervention program compared with social support intervention on nutritional and frailty status in prefrail and frail community-dwelling older persons. Design This was a randomized controlled trial in which comm...

Einleitung: Mangelernährung und Frailty können durch Ernährungs- und Bewegungsinterventionen positiv beeinflusst werden. Das Ziel war es, die Auswirkungen von körperlichem Training, Ernährungsintervention sowie sozialer Unterstützung auf den Ernährungs- und Frailty Status bei älteren Menschen zu untersuchen. Methoden: In der randomisierten kontrol...

EINLEITUNG Am „Neurologischen Rehabilitationszentrum Rosenhügel“ wird zur Beurteilung des Gehens eine instrumentelle Ganganalyse durchgeführt. Ziel dieser Evaluation ist die Änderungen in der selbst gewählten Gehgeschwindigkeit von Schlaganfallpatienten/innen nach 4-6 Wochen stationärer Rehabilitation. METHODEN Die Evaluation erfolgte für den Zeitr...

Physical inactivity is one of the major risk factors for people to become overweight or obese. To achieve a substantial health benefit, adults should do at least 150 min of moderate or 75 min of high intensity aerobic activity per week and additionally they should do muscle strengthening exercises. This recommendation represents the lower limit and...

Background: For developed countries, healthy aging is one of the challenges and the number of healthy life years and especially the quality of life (QoL) are important. Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between nutritional status and different domains of QoL in (pre)frail community-dwelling elders. Design: Baseline data from per...

Although the infrastructure of Austrians' sports clubs is well developed, exercise classes for people suffering from type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) do not exist. This feasibility study evaluates factors for participating in target group specific exercise courses (TGSEC) and changes in physical activity. This intervention study was performed in 22...