8 research outputs found
Sudden cardiac arrest risk in young athletes
Underlying cardiac abnormalities are the main cause of unexpected death in athletes on field. These abnormalities have been associated with a previous history of syncope, a family history of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), cardiac murmur, a history of over-exhaustion post exercise and ventricular tachyarrhythmia during physical activity. The timely diagnosis of susceptible athletes may assist with an appropriate management plan for these individuals, and allow for the prevention of premature death in sport. A young football player was screened for SCA risk using the fundamental components of the pre-participation examination (PPE) – essentially, a medical history, a resting and stress electrocardiogram, and an echocardiogram to support clinical findings. The case is submitted with consideration of the applicable literature to accentuate the importance of using PPE to prevent SCA in young athletes
Effect of a therapeutic dose of pseudoephedrine on swimmers’ performance
Background. The potential performance-enhancement effect of pseudoephedrine (PSE) use has led to its prohibition in competition sports (urine concentrations >150 μg/ml). Data are, however, scarce regarding whether therapeutic PSE use enhances swimming performance.Objective. To investigate the effect of therapeutic PSE use on performance in aerobic and explosive sprint swimming events.Method. A double-blinded cross-over study design was used. Participants in the control group initially received a placebo and those in the experimental group received a divided PSE dose of 90 mg/d. Anaerobic power (50 m sprint) and aerobic (2 000 m) swimming testing was conducted at (i) baseline; (ii) after ingestion of a placebo or PSE; and (iii) after the groups were crossed over, following a wash-out period of 4 days, to determine changes in performance between trials.Results. The participants (mean age 44 years; N=7) were competitive masters swimmers with normal resting heart rates (68 beats per minute (bpm); standard deviation (SD) ±14) and blood pressures (BPs) (171 (SD ±27)/83 (SD ±16) mmHg). The use of PSE during the anaerobic swim test showed only a trivial chance (68%) of improvement, with a likely enhancement in systolic BP (86%). The aerobic swim test did not affirm performance enhancement as measured by time to completion (52% chance of a positive effect; 41% chance of a negative effect), nor did any other physiological variable of interest (peak heart rate and exercising BP) differ significantly from baseline results.Conclusion. The use of a therapeutic amount of PSE in short and endurance swimming trials did not appear to have any major ergogenic effect on performance
Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of physical activity levels among South African adults in Cape Town and Mount Frere communities in 2008-2009
BACKGROUND: Physical activity has been linked to reduced risk of various cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and
premature mortality. We investigated the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of physical activity
among adults in urban and rural communities in South Africa. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey
comprising 1733 adults aged ?35 years from the Cape Town (urban) and Mount Frere (rural) sites of the
Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study. Physical activity was assessed using the validated International
Physical Activity Questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to relate physical activity with
socio-demographic characteristics.
RESULTS: Overall, 74% of participants engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. In the adjusted regression
models, women were 34% less likely to engage in vigorous physical activity (OR =0.66, 95%-CI = 0.47-0.93). Physical
activity decreased with age, varied with marital status, education and occupation, always in differential ways
between urban and rural participants (all interactions p ? 0.047). For instance, in urban settings, those with
secondary education were more likely to engage in moderate physical activity (OR = 2.06, 95%-CI = 1.08-3.92)
than those with tertiary education. Single people were more likely to engage in high physical activity (OR = 2.10,
95%-CI = 1.03-4.28) than divorced. Overall, skilled participants were more likely to engage in vigorous physical
activity (OR = 2.07, 95%-CI = 1.41-3.05) driven by significant effect in rural area (OR = 2.70, 95%-CI = 1.51-4.83).
Urban participants were more likely to engage in moderate physical activity (OR = 1.67, 95%-CI = 1.31-2.13)
than rural participants.
CONCLUSIONS: To prevent chronic diseases among South Africans, attention should be paid to specific policies
and interventions aimed at promoting PA among young adults in rural and urban setting, and across the
social-economic diversity
Exposure and connectedness to natural environments: An examination of the measurement invariance of the Nature Exposure Scale (NES) and Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups
Detachment from nature is contributing to the environmental crisis and reversing this trend requires detailed monitoring and targeted interventions to reconnect people to nature. Most tools measuring nature exposure and attachment were developed in high-income countries and little is known about their robustness across national and linguistic groups. Therefore, we used data from the Body Image in Nature Survey to assess measurement invariance of the Nature Exposure Scale (NES) and the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). While multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) of the NES supported full scalar invariance across gender identities and age groups, only partial scalar invariance was supported across national and linguistic groups. MG-CFA of the CNS also supported full scalar invariance across gender identities and age groups, but only partial scalar invariance of a 7-item version of the CNS across national and linguistic groups. Nation-level associations between NES and CNS scores were negligible, likely reflecting a lack of conceptual clarity over what the NES is measuring. Individual-level associations between both measures and sociodemographic variables were weak. Findings suggest that the CNS-7 may be a useful tool to measure nature connectedness globally, but measures other than the NES may be needed to capture nature exposure cross-culturally
Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age
The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research