Race to Beat the Heat: Climate Change Impacts Physical Activity

Climate change has led to increased frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme heat events with dire consequences for health. These are the deadliest of climate change impacts with preventable mortality from heat-related illnesses and increased threat to safe participation in physical activity and sports. Nurse practitioners can collaborate with community and professional sports health organizations to ensure evidence-based health and safety policies to reduce health-related risks. Adverse consequences on engagement in key health-promoting physical activity and sports may catalyze urgent action to address climate change.     

The adolescent athlete's heart; A miniature adult or grown-up child?

The systematic development of early age talent in sports academies has led to the professionalization of pediatric sport and the sports physician need to be aware of pediatric cardiological problems. Research into the medical cardiac care and assessment of the pediatric athlete are accumulating, but specific pediatric international guidelines are not available yet and reference data for ECG and echocardiography are incomplete, in particular for the age group <12 years of age. This article is an introduction to the physiological and diagnostics specifics of the pediatric athlete. The focus lies in the differences in presentation and diagnosis between pediatric and adult athletes for the most common pathologies. Reference data for electrical and structural adaptations to intensive exercise are sparse particularly in athletes aged below 12 years old. Training related changes include decrease of resting heart rate, increase of cardiac output, ventricular cavity size, and wall thickness. Cardiac hypertrophy is less pronounced in pediatric athletes, as HR mediated cardiac output increase to endurance exercise is the dominant mechanism in peripubertal children. As in adults, the most pronounced cardiovascular adaptations appear in classical endurance sports like rowing, triathlon, and swimming, but the specifics of pediatric ECG and echocardiographic changes need to be considered.     

Effects of second-hand smoking on lung functions in athlete and non-athlete school-aged children – observational study

BackgroundSecond-hand smoking or environmental tobacco smoke is a critical health risk. Children are the most vulnerable to second-hand smoking because of their small bronchial ducts, less developed immunity, and low-physical activity.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to ascertain the effects of second-hand smoking on lung functions in athlete and non-athlete school-aged children.MethodsThis observational study included forty-six school-aged children, their age was 8–15 years, assigned to three groups; 2 study groups and 1 control group (n=15). The study groups comprised of 16 football players, and of 15 cyclists. Lung functions were evaluated recording forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and peak expiratory flow using digital spirometer.ResultsAll measures were recorded in definite values and the children were also classified into second-hand smoking (SH), or non-exposed to tobacco smoking (NE). The findings presented a significant increase (p<0.05) of the study groups in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and peak expiratory flow solely for the non-exposed children. However, there were non-significant differences between the cyclists and football players or between the passive smoking children and non-exposed children in any of the two study groups (p>0.05).ConclusionThe outcomes of this study suggest beneficial influences of the sports activity on the lung functions, without different influences of the cyclists and football players on the lung functions.     

Codeine influences the serum and urinary profile of endogenous androgens but does not interact with the excretion rate of administered testosterone

Today's doping tests involve longitudinal monitoring of urinary steroids including the testosterone glucuronide and epitestosterone glucuronide ratio (T/E) in an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). The aim of this study was to investigate the possible influence of short‐term use of codeine on the urinary excretion of androgen metabolites included in the steroidal module of the passport prior to and after the co‐administration with testosterone. The study was designed as an open study with the subjects being their own control. Fifteen healthy male volunteers received therapeutic doses of codeine (Kodein Meda) for 6 days. On Day 3, 500 mg or 125 mg of testosterone enanthate (Testoviron®‐Depot) was administered. Spot urine samples were collected for 17 days, and blood samples were collected at baseline, 3, 6, and 14 days after codeine intake. The circulatory concentration of total testosterone decreased significantly by 20% after 3 days' use of codeine (p = 0.0002) and an atypical ABP result was noted in one of the subjects. On the other hand, the concomitant use of codeine and testosterone did not affect the elevated urinary T/E ratio. In 75% of the individuals, the concentration of urinary morphine (a metabolite of codeine) was above the decision limit for morphine. One of the participants displayed a morphine/codeine ratio of 1.7 after codeine treatment, indicative of morphine abuse. In conclusion, our study shows that codeine interferes with the endogenous testosterone concentration. As a result, the urinary steroid profile may lead to atypical findings in the doping test.     

Open Re-rupture of the Achilles Tendon Following Minimally Invasive Repair: A Case Report

In this report, we describe a rare complication of an open re-rupture of the Achilles tendon following a minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair on a healthy 29-year-old active male. The reinjury happened 19 weeks following the primary surgical repair of a spontaneous rupture, performed by minimally invasive technique with the help of a jig using partially absorbable sutures and four locking stitches. The wound of the open re-rupture was transverse, in a perpendicular orientation relative to the longitudinal approach used in the index procedure. Increased scar tissue formation, the absence of an adequate layer of paratenon overlying the primary tendon repair, and foreign-body reaction to the suture may have been involved in the occurrence of this unusual complication in the surgical treatment of Achilles tendon rupture.     

Intra-individual stability of longitudinal urinary steroid profiles in Swedish athletes

The steroid module of the athlete biological passport (ABP) aims to detect doping with endogenous steroids by longitudinally monitoring epitestosterone (E), testosterone (T), and four metabolically related steroids and their ratios. There are large variations in the urinary levels of the androgen metabolites due to genetic polymorphisms, drug use, menstrual cycle, and other factors. In this study, we aimed to increase our understanding of the natural, within-individual variations of the established ABP markers in males and females over time, looking at samples collected both in and out-of-competition (IC/OOC). Urinary steroid profiles from 323 Swedish athletes, with at least five samples per athlete, were extracted from ADAMS together with information on type of sport, IC/OOC, and time of day. Data were analyzed using coefficient of variation (CV%) to examine within-subject variability and linear mixed effects models to estimate within-subject change in the metabolites over time. The metabolites and ratios expressed higher individual CV% in females (23–56) than in males (18–39). Samples taken OOC showed larger intra-individual variations than samples collected IC for most of the ABP metabolites in both sexes. The median concentrations were higher IC for some metabolites, particularly testosterone being 52% higher among females. Time of day influenced the intra-individual variation of the urinary steroid profile with decreases in androgen metabolites over time, if measured in evening versus daytime. These findings can aid in the testing strategies and interpretation of the steroidal module of ABP.