Risk Factors for Contracting COVID-19 and Changes in Menstrual and Sleep Cycles in Japanese Female Athletes during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Although research on COVID-19 is prevalent, risk factors for contracting COVID-19 and lifestyle changes in athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been thoroughly investigated. This study included 254 female collegiate athletes and 107 female non-athletes from Japan, who completed an anonymous survey comprising questions about COVID-19, personal background and lifestyle changes during the pandemic. A total of 6.30% athletes and 6.54% non-athletes had tested positive for COVID-19. The majority reported no change in menstrual cycle (80.31% and 78.50% for athletes and non-athletes, respectively). Wake-up time and bedtime were delayed in some athletes (42.13% and 39.25%, respectively) and non-athletes (46.73% and 31.30%, respectively) during the pandemic. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher in COVID-19 (+) athletes than in their COVID-19 (−) counterparts (22.78 ± 3.40 and 21.26 ± 2.06, respectively, p < 0.01) and logistic regression analysis revealed that younger students and those with higher BMI had an increased risk of contracting COVID-19. The proportion of vaccinated students was significantly higher in athletes than in non-athletes (p < 0.01). Whether the student was an athlete or not was not a related factor in contracting COVID-19. Extra attention should be focused on athletes experiencing weight gain or staying up late and experiencing lower quality sleep.

Amounts and compositional analysis of glycosaminoglycans in the tissue of fish.

We isolated GAGs from the inedible parts; head, skin, internal organs, fins, scales and spine, of atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), japanese jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus), pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis), yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera), broadbanded thornyhead (Sebastolobus macrochir), golden threadfin bream (Nemipterus virgatus), and nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). We also investigated deep-sea fish, eelpouts (Bothrocara hollandi, Lycodes toyamensis, and Lycodes nakamurae), rough snailfish (Careproctus trachysoma), and squids (Watasenia scintillans, Enoploteuthis chunii, and Berryteuthis magister). Enzymatic digestion of the GAGs enabled a compositional analysis of CS, DS, and HA including the sulfation patterns of CS and DS, as well as the amount of each GAG. The molecular weights and distributions of these GAGs were also examined. The amounts of GAGs contained in the tissues and CS/DS ratios differed remarkably among the fish. The dorsal fin of the yellowfin sole contained more than 1300mg of CS-DS per 100g of defatted-dry tissue. Although the fish generally contained A-type rich CS-DS, bottom fish and deep-sea fish often possessed C-type CS-DS in larger ratios. Squid characteristically had E-type CS-DS which was normally less common in fish except in cartilaginous fish. These analytical results had no relation to the biological classification.