Cognitive deficits due to thermal stress: An exploratory study on soldiers in deserts |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, India;2. Scientist ‘G’, Dept of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, India;3. DMS (Health) & Senior Adviser (Community Medicine), Air HQ, Office of DGMS (Air), New Delhi, India;4. Principal Medical Officer, Eastern Air Command, C/O 99 APO, India;1. Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK;2. Senior Epidemiologist, Ottawa Public Health, Canada;1. National Guideline Alliance, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 27, Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RG, UK;2. Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK;3. Division of Metabolic and Vascular Health, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK;4. Department of Diabetes & Endocrinology, George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton CV10 7DJ, UK,;1. Département Environnements Opérationnels, Unité de Physiologie de l′Exercice et des Activités en Conditions Extrêmes, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, 1 place Général Valérie André, 91223 Bretigny-Sur-Orge, France;2. Ecole du Val-de-Grâce, 1, place Alphonse Laveran, 75230 Paris cedex 5, France;3. Forces Françaises aux Émirats Arabes Unis, Centre Médical Interarmées, Zayed Military City, United Arab Emirates;1. State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 102205, China;2. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Al- Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan;3. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE10691 Stockholm, Sweden |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundIt is well known that environmental factors play an important role in human performance. High temperature and humidity particularly impair mental performance by altering brain neurochemistry and electrolyte disturbance which in turn affect one's overall efficiency. While the physiological responses to environmental heat have been well established, it is less clear about its impact on cognition. Study aims to investigate the impact of thermal strain on cognition.MethodsOne hundred (100) healthy soldiers aged between 20 and 30 years who had spent minimum of one year in desert conditions prior to their induction in the study formed sample of the study. The subjects were evaluated on memory and on cognitive functions twice i.e. in the month of February and June. The data so generated was analyzed by appropriate statistical methods.ResultsThe mean age of the subjects were 25.8 yrs. There was a significant decline in cognitive performance in hot climate as compared to normal weather on Post graduate Institute (PGI) memory scale (P < 0.05). The effect was more marked for tests requiring sustained attention, concentration, psychomotor performance, verbal memory and tests of executive function.ConclusionThe present study is the first study to be conducted in actual desert conditions. Findings revealed a detrimental impact of thermal stress on the cognitive performance of soldiers in deserts. |
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| Keywords: | Cognition Soldier Thermal stress |
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