The Physiological and Cardiologic Effects of Long Video Gaming Sessions in Adult Males

The effect of long gaming sessions on energy intake, caffeine intake, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, and biochemical cardiac injury markers is unknown. The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the changes in healthy male adults during two consecutive 18-hour sedentary video gaming sessions. Nine participants were enrolled in the study. Energy intake was noted in food diaries. Heart rate variability was monitored continuously; blood pressure and cardiac injury markers were measured every three to six hours. During the 42-hour study, the participants had an energy and caffeine intake of 8004.9 kcal and 1354.4 mg, respectively. The participants had a significant decrease in energy intake in the second session (p=0.01). A strong, negative correlation was found between body mass index and total energy intake (R=–0.84, p=0.005) and waist circumference and total energy intake (R=–0.70, p=0.036) in the first session. No nightly dip in blood pressure or heart rate was observed. Based on this study, long-term adverse effects of gaming cannot be ruled out. The non-dip of HR and BP suggests that long gaming sessions could be detrimental to cardiovascular health long term

Dissection of the coeliac trunk

This is a case report of two men aged 39 and 43 years with dissection of the coeliac trunk involving the splenic arteries causing splenic infarction. One case was associated with an increase in abdominal pressure during defaecation and the other occurred during treatment with methylphenidate. Based on the published 43 cases, risk factors include male sex, increased intraabdominal pressure or increased vascular pressure. Methylphenidate most likely increased the blood pressure, and dissections of other arteries have been described during treatment with this and the similar drug amphetamine.</p

Are Gamers Prone to eThrombosis during Long Gaming Sessions?

During the last two decades, several cases of venous thrombosis (VTE) after a prolonged period at a computer have been described, denominated as “eThrombosis”. Video gaming on a computer has become very popular and can be a social activity where several players gather to play against each other or in a virtual environment for several days (“LAN (i.e., Local Area Network) parties”) where the participants are sedentary and consuming calorie-rich food items. The aim of this study was to investigate potential coagulation activation during a 42 h LAN party. Nine male gamers volunteered for the LAN party. Citrated blood was sampled before and every 6 h, and plasma was analyzed for thrombin generation, thrombin–antithrombin complexes (TAT), prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2), and D-dimer. Thrombin generation increased slightly but not significantly during the LAN party, whereas the coagulation activation markers were unchanged. These results do not indicate that the coagulation system is activated significantly during 42 h of gaming with minimal physical activity. Although increased activity cannot be excluded, it does not directly indicate a risk of VTE in general