Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between lifestyle habits, health factors, athletic activity conditions, and exertional heat exhaustion (EHE)–related symptoms among male college athletes in Japan based on a self-completed questionnaire. The paper-based questionnaires were distributed to 11 universities in Japan, and 2006 respondents completed the survey. Data of personal characteristics (age, body mass), lifestyle habits (sleep duration, use of air-conditioner while sleeping, and practice duration), perceived health factors (loss of appetite, sleep deprivation, sickness, dehydration, accumulated fatigue, and mental stress), perceived athletic activity (insufficient rest breaks, high ambient temperature, excessive humidity, strong solar radiation, lack of ambient wind, and clothing discomfort), and EHE-related symptoms (dizziness, headaches, nausea, and malaise) were collected. The association between lifestyle habits, health factors, athletic activity conditions (explanatory variables), and EHE-related symptoms (objective variables) was analyzed using the partial-proportional odds model. “Perceived dehydration” (odds ratios [ORs] 1.70–2.31, p < 0.002),” “sickness” (ORs 1.35–1.76), p < 0.001), “perceived accumulated fatigue” (ORs 1.13–1.31, p ≤ 0.001), “perceived mental stress” (ORs 1.17–1.31, p < 0.019), “lack of ambient wind” (ORs 1.12–1.19, p < 0.022), “loss of appetite” (ORs 1.16–1.23, p < 0.037), and “sleep deprivation” (ORs 1.15–1.17, p < 0.025) were positively associated with EHE-related symptoms, whereas “using an air conditioner during sleeping” (ORs 0.91, p = 0.047) during summer seasons was negatively associated. These findings suggest that athletes should be allowed to postpone or downregulate exercise intensity and/or volume based on their perceptions of dehydration, sickness, accumulated fatigue, mental stress, loss of appetite, and/or sleep deprivation in the summer to prevent heat illness.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the respondents who donated their time and effort to participate in this study. The authors also acknowledge Prof. N. Kimura, Prof. K. Suzukawa, Prof. E. Kaneda, Mr. M. Shirado (Nippon Sports Science University), Prof. N. Okamoto (Ritsumeikan University), Dr M. Itai (Jichi Med University), Prof. T. Ishii (Kanagawa University), Prof. F. Tsukuda (Biwako Seikei University), Prof. T. Matsumoto (Chukyo University), and Dr. M. Ozeki (Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences) for conducting the survey. The authors also acknowledge Y. Nishimura, K. Inoue, and A. Yamashita for the survey preparations.
Funding
This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant numbers: 17K01668 to TY and 19K20070 to NY).
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Naoyuki Yamashita, Masashi Kume, and Tetsuya Yoshida conceived and designed the research; Naoyuki Yamashita, Masashi Kume, Toshiyuki Satake, and Tetsuya Yoshida administered the survey; Naoyuki Yamashita, Masashi Kume, Toshiyuki Satake, and Tetsuya Yoshida prepared the data; Naoyuki Yamashita analyzed the data; Naoyuki Yamashita prepared the tables and figure; all authors interpreted the results; Naoyuki Yamashita drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors read, and approved the final manuscript.
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Ethical approval was granted by the Kyoto Institute of Technology Ethics Committee for Scientific Research Involving Human Subjects. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki statement on the use of human participants. The survey’s purpose was explained verbally to all athletes; each confirmed that completion of the questionnaire was considered consent for participation. Therefore, no written consent was obtained. In addition, it was made explicit that they were under no obligation to partake in the survey and that all responses would be treated with strict anonymity.
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Yamashita, N., Kume, M., Satake, T. et al. Subjective perceived risk factors of exertional heat exhaustion–related symptoms in male collegiate athletes in Japan: a case-control study. Int J Biometeorol 67, 649–659 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02442-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02442-2