title: Exercise counseling of primary care physicians in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases is associated with their specialty and exercise habits.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We investigated the practice of exercise counseling of primary care physicians in metabolic syndromes and cardiovascular diseases and its association with their age class, specialty, work place, and their own exercise habits.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 3,310 medical doctors who had graduated from Jichi Medical University in Japan. The study instrument was a self-administered questionnaire to investigate their age class, specialty, workplace, exercise habits, and exercise counseling for their patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 839 completed responses were analyzed from a total of 933 that were received (28.2%). The primary care physicians whose specialties were internal medicine and general medicine significantly more often recommended exercise in diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, heart failure, and hypertension cases than those whose specialties were surgery and pediatrics. The primary care physicians whose specialty was pediatrics recommended exercise less often in apoplexia cases than those whose specialties were internal medicine, general medicine, and surgery. Their exercise habits were positively associated with their recommendation of exercise in hyperlipidemia, heart failure, and hypertension cases; however, these associations were not observed in diabetes mellitus and apoplexia. The primary care physicians' age class and work place showed no association with their exercise recommendations in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The primary care physicians whose specialties were internal medicine and general medicine significantly more often recommended exercise in diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, heart failure, and hypertension cases. In addition, their own exercise habits were positively associated with their recommendation of exercise in hyperlipidemia, heart failure, and hypertension cases.
authors: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Yoshiyuki
authors: Y
authors: Morishita
authors: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Atushi
authors: A
authors: Miki
authors: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Mari
authors: M
authors: Okada
authors: Department of Public Health, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Tsuboi
authors: Department of Medical Physiology, Meiji Pharmaceutical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Kenichi
authors: K
authors: Ishibashi
authors: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Ando
authors: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Daisuke
authors: D
authors: Nagata
authors: Utsunomiya Social Insurance Hospital, Tochigi, Japan.
authors: Eiji
authors: E
authors: Kusano
keywords: cardiovascular diseases; exercise recommendation; metabolic syndrome; primary care physician; self-administered questionnaire