Quantitative Analysis

Quantitative Analysis

Before making decisions concerning a set of data, the data needs to be processed. The processing of data involves the production of cleaned, transformed, and modeled data that could be used for decision-making purposes. Data analysis aims at retrieving useful information. The process of data processing involves both quantitative and qualitative analysis. This paper will focus on the aspect of quantitative data analysis.  Quantitative analysis involves the understanding of information through the statistical and mathematical research and measurement of data. The quantitative analysis incorporates the use of numerical as a means of representing reality.

This analysis is based on the evaluation of three sets of data. The analysis involves obtaining numerical data from 50 subjects. The data obtained is then subjected to quantitative analysis to derive the relationship between the three different sets of data. The first set of data obtained through random interviewing of people is the age of the participants.  After asking the age of the participants, voluntary information will be asked concerning the number of times the participants or a member of their families have been infected with chronic diseases. Finally, the participants would be asked if they agree with the idea that physical inactivity is among the primary courses for chronic illnesses. Participants are expected to answer the third question in a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree – strongly agree). The relevance of this information will be analyzed through the comparison of the responses obtained. The correlation between the answers and the significance of these correlations are derived from the quantitative analysis.

Literature Review

Today’s modern world is experiencing daily threats from cases of chronic illnesses. Researchers and professionals in the field of healthcare argue that physical inactivity is a major cause of the prevalence of chronic illnesses. Physical activities increase the lifespans of individuals, makes people feel better, and give people more energy. It has become more difficult to assume the vast health benefits of physical exercises. This is made more difficult by the fact that numerous diseases out there are linked to the lack of physical activity. A major advantage of using physical activity as a means of reducing infections is because everyone can participate in physical activity irrespective of physical ability, gender, and age. Weight loss is among one of the major ways through which exercise helps to prevent the body from disease. The biological mechanism through which physical exercise helps individuals to prevent infections is vast and can be justified through a comprehensive literature review.

According to a report from Mayo Clinic (2019), physical exercise helps humans to attain proper health in seven ways. First, exercise helps to regulate body weight. Controlled addition of weight and healthy weight loss through physical activities is important for the body to burn calories. An individual does not necessarily need to spend a lot of time in the gym to burn fats. Any type and volume of exercise help maintain good health. However, the more exercise one does the more calories are depleted in the body the report encourages individuals to opt for stairs instead of lifts and walk for short distances instead of using the vehicle. Simple exercises like these could have more benefit on the body than no exercise at all.

The report from the clinic also suggests that regular exercise could help to prevent blood pressure and other heart diseases. Exercise has been found to reduce the number of unhealthy triglycerides in the body while increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (Mayo Clinic, 2019). The increased availability of HDL and reduced amounts of triglycerides are important in the reduction of risks of getting heart problems. The common disorders that are prevented through regular exercises include depression, arthritis, many types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, anxiety, falls, and metabolic syndrome. According to the clinic, regular physical activities are also effective in improving cognitive processes.

In addition to regulating body weight and fighting diseases, exercise is also important in improving mood. In the event of a stressful day, a brisk walk or a session in the gym could help to up the emotions of an individual (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Several brain chemicals are stimulated in the event of an exercise thus resulting in individuals feeling less anxious, more relaxed, and happier. Regular exercises improve body posture and overall appearance thus improves an individual’s self-esteem.

According to this report, the clinic suggests that exercising between 75-150 minutes a week with varied intensity depending on the time taken can help improve the overall health of individuals (Mayo Clinic, 2019). The intensity of exercises should be varied between rigorous and moderate or a combination of both. Similarly, one could spread the exercises to be done across the week such that the person runs in some days, walks in some and swims in another day. It is also important to include strength training as part of the routine for better results. However, individuals are encouraged to seek the doctor’s advice first before beginning a new training routine.

Another study conducted by frank et al. (2012) suggests that physical inactivity is a major predisposing factor to chronic illnesses. Part of the study focuses on the history of exercise and health and how physical activity has been identified to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses. The article is divided into portions, and each portion describes a specific aspect of the relationship between exercise and the prevention of chronic diseases. However, the general information contained in the study suggests that lack of enough physical activity has been an ignored cause of numerous chronic diseases. Evidence from this study supports the idea that physical activity could be a remedy to most of the killer diseases that are causing problems in today’s era (Frank et al. 2012). Another part of the paper describes the causes of various chronic disorders in some of the possible ways that physical activity could be used to treat these disorders. The same portion also looks at the various ways in which genetics affect individual involvement in physical activities. The main focus of this article is based on the fact that the lack of sufficient physical activity could result in approximately 35 clinical and pathological conditions. The final part of the article looks into the clinical importance, risk factors as well ell as the consequences that exercise could have on individuals across the different lifespans.

Pedersen and Saltin, (2015) provide evidence to support the use of physical therapy as a means of treating chronic disorders. The review supports the use of exercise as a medicine against 26 chronic illnesses. The evidence provided in this article is based on the treatment of different illnesses which are categorized under neurological disorders, psychiatric diseases, pulmonary diseases, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular disorders, cancer, and muscular-skeleton disorders. The possible mechanisms of actions through which physical activity could be used to treat the mentioned diseases are also discussed.

This article is based on a compressive literature review on the MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases focusing on the listed diseases. The search is made easier through the use of keywords including, training, physical fitness, aerobic, physical activity, exercise therapy, and rehabilitation. The authors of this article also conducted meta-analyses, systemic reviews, and several controlled trials all aimed at proving the effectiveness of physical therapy in the treatment of various chronic illnesses.

Another article by Balady, et al. (2010) provides a guide to testing the effectiveness of exercise among adults with cardiopulmonary infections. This guide is based on the scientific statement on the efficacy of daily exercise from the American Heart Association. The authors of this guide admit that the testing of exercise among adults is a versatile and remarkably durable approach used in the diagnosis and prognosis of pulmonary and cardiovascular infections. The technology used in exercise testing has evolved for pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases just like in other testing procedures. When adjunctive imaging modalities are combined with exercise testing, the accuracy of diagnosis is increased. The amount of information obtained in prognosis also increases as well as the recovery of additional information concerning the structure and function of the cardiovascular system. Important incremental information is also obtained in a wide array when exercise testing is combined with ventilator gas exchange measurements (Balady, et al. 2010). These measurements are often underutilized and poorly understood. Therefore, to facilitate a better understanding of the effects of exercise on the treatment of cardiovascular infections among adults, additional equipment referred to as cardiopulmonary exercise testing systems (CPX) is required.

In the presence of trained personnel, these systems analyze the rate of gaseous exchange during physical activity. The CPX systems measure the amount of oxygen inhaled and the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled when an individual is physically active. The efficacy of the system as portrayed by the authors allow for widespread use of the system (Balady, et al. 2010). The system has widely been used in research venues and in the assessment of athletic performance in addition to the measurement of exercise by the American Heart Association. This article addresses various aspects of the CPX that allows for effective and accurate exercise testing. The use of CPX can be an effective tool in justifying the effect of exercise in the treatment of treatment.

Another article from Advances in physiology education written by Tipton, highlights the history of exercise as a medicine in the treatment, management, prevention, and reduction of infections. The article is based on the global initiative by the American College of Sports Medicine to reduce the occurrence and prevalence of certain disorders. The initiative was meant to encourage medical practitioners to advocate for exercise in their daily approaches to the management of infections. According to Tipton (2014), this initiative was initiated in 2007 and some of the pioneers of this initiative suggested that physical inactivity was among the biggest causes of some chronic illnesses.

This article aimed at illustrating the history of the Exercise is Medicine (EIM) initiative. It illustrates. It was also aimed at demonstrating the role of philosophers and physicians in assisting to achieve the aims of the initiative. The author of this article acknowledged the existence of exercise as part of the treatment regime used by physicians from ancient times. This article suggests that the use of physical activity as an approach to treatment was used long ago, including during the Greek and Roman times. According to Tipton, (2014) an ancient physician known as Susruta held to the idea that individuals who are used to physical exercises are rarely affected by the disease. On the other hand, this ancient health specialist suggested that individuals who remained sedentary, slept too long, and ate too much were likely to be affected by a variety of illnesses.

Methods

This study is based on the analysis of three variables including the age, many times the participants or a member of their family has been infected with chronic infections associated with less physical exercise, and how much they agree to the idea that physical inactivity is among the primary causes of chronic infections. After obtaining these sets of data, correlations between them are made to see the level of significance of each data set and to analyze the relationship between each set of data. The study involved a total of 50 participants. The number of male and female participants was equal and the age was not limited. However, the ages of those who participated in the survey ranged from (18-60). Each participant was asked the three questions and only those 50 individuals who answered were included in the study. In the third question, the participants were supposed to answer in terms of strongly agree to strongly disagree. A neutral point was included in this question for those who felt a balance in their opinion. After collating the data in a table, the average, and the standard deviation were calculated. The correlation between the three variables was also calculated and the results from the correlation used to determine the relationship between the variables. The significance of the difference in the age of the participants was determined using a t-test. The three questions asked to include:

1. What is your age?
2. How many cases of chronic diseases have you, or a member of your family had?
3. Would you agree that physical inactivity is among the primary factors leading to increased chronic illnesses?

Data Results and Analysis

Data table

Table 1: Quantitative analysis of the independent variables

Mean and standard deviation

The first question to be answered by the participants was on how old they were. The lower age limit was 18 while the upper age limit available in the study was 60. The average age was 33.6 which could be rounded off to 34. The standard deviation of the participants’ ages was 12, therefore the majority of the participants ranged between 22 and 46 years. The second question was concerning the frequency of chronic infections among family members and the participants. The average number that the participants and their family members had been infected with chronic infections was two times. The deviation from the average frequency of infections, in this case, was 1. The third question was about whether the participants agreed that maintaining hospital hygiene was the best way of reducing chronic infections. In this majority of the people agreed as indicated by a mean of 2. (The scale was as follows: Strongly agree: 1, agree: 2, neutral: 3. Disagree: 4 strongly disagree: 5)

Correlations

The correlation factor is a measure of the relationship between two variables that are independent of each other. The Pearson Moment Correlation (r) therefore, compares how close two data sets are to each other. The first correlation was between the age of participants and the number of times the participants or members of their families have been affected by infections related to physical inactivity. After analyzing the two data sets, the results obtained showed that r=0.05. This suggests a minor relationship between the age of participants and the frequency of infection.

In the second comparison, the relationship between the frequency of infection and the effect of reduced physical activity as a means of reducing chronic infections was studied. From this correlation, it was observed that r=-0.0687. This answer shows that these variables had no common relationship and therefore the frequency of infection did not influence their idea that suggests physical inactivity is among the primary causes for chronic infections. The third correlation was between the age (v1) of the participants and their opinion on whether physical exercises are effective approaches used to reducing infections. The results of this correlation showed that r= 0.0148. This number is very small, thus indicating that the relationship between age and the participants’ opinions is also insignificant.

The t-test

            The significant differences between the answers given for questions two and three were analyzed using the t-test. To perform the t-test, the mean age is required so that the young and the old individuals could be extracted from the data. From the data obtained, the average age was 34 therefor all individuals below 34 years were considered young while all the individuals above thirty-four were considered as the older individuals. In the second question (V2) the t-test results obtained a P-value of 0.5. This value indicates a probability of 50 percent which could be translated that the difference between the numbers of times the participants or members of their families have been infected with chronic diseases.

On the other hand, the t-test on V3 produced a lesser value of P. The difference between the participants’ opinions produced a value of P=0.107. This translates into a probability of error of 10%, thus showing that there is a significant difference in terms of the number of young people who agreed with the third question and the number of old people who agreed with the third question.

Conclusion

            The majority of people in this survey said that the number of times that their family member had chronic infections was twice. Similarly, the majority of the participants agreed embracing a physically active lifestyle could be the best approach towards preventing, reducing, managing, and treating various infections. The results from the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) showed a slight relationship between age and the frequency of infection. This could be attributed to the fact that when the age an individual increases, there is a decreased ability to take part in physical exercise. An increase in age also results in invulnerability in the case of infections. The issues that are linked to increased chances of being infected among older adults justify the relationship between V1 and V2. However, the relationship between age and the participants’ opinions was insignificant. These results could be justified by the fact that several other factors facilitate the occurrence of chronic disorders and thus the opinions of the participants were dependent on these other factors which are also worth considering.

 Limitations

            Due to the random selection of the participants, the information obtained from them concerning the frequency of infections could be manipulated due to personal reasons, thereby, resulting in inaccurate results. The Participants, in this case, could withhold important information, and this could, therefore, manipulate the results.

References

Balady, G. J., Arena, R., Sietsema, K., Myers, J., Coke, L., Fletcher, G. F., … & Keteyian, S. J. (2010). Clinician’s guide to cardiopulmonary exercise testing in adults: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 122(2), 191-225.

Booth, F. W., Roberts, C. K., & Laye, M. J. (2011). Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Comprehensive Physiology, 2(2), 1143-1211.

MayoClinic, (2019) Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389

Pedersen, B. K., & Saltin, B. (2015). Exercise as medicine–evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different chronic diseases. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 25, 1-72.

Tipton, C. M. (2014). The history of “Exercise Is Medicine” in ancient civilizations. Advances in physiology education, 38(2), 109-117.