Anxiety, eating disorders and menstrual disturbances risk in Spanish elite female paddlers.

Affiliated athletes are frequently subject to higher levels of anxiety due to the intensity of training, competition and many other factors. This anxiety can cause alterations in their health, both physically and mentally, such as menstrual irregularities, eating disorders, etc. In this work we have analysed the anxiety levels of a population of female affiliated paddlers and the possible consequences for their health. The results showed that a third of the female paddlers analysed have a moderate/high risk of suffering from anxiety; and within this group, the less sporting experience the athlete has, the greater the probability is of suffering from anxiety. Moreover, almost half the total of the female paddlers suffers from menstrual dysfunction before an important competition, with this number rising among high performance athletes, even though three out of every four adjust their training schedule to their menstrual cycle. Less-experienced female athletes, who show higher anxiety levels, also present a greater risk of suffering from eating disorders.

Avenues for prevention using the epidemiology of sport-related concussion from a large high school surveillance study.

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiology provides fundamental opportunities to protect student-athlete health. The goal of this study was to describe the epidemiology of sport-related concussion (SRC) across 8 years (2015/2016-2022/2023) and compare boys' and girls' sports for SRC incidence and SRC mechanisms. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study performed using a statewide high school head injury surveillance system of high school student-athletes (n = 2,182,128; boys, n = 1,267,389; girls, n = 914,739). Exposures of interest included study year and boys and girls in comparable sports. Clinical incidence was calculated by dividing SRC counts in each sport by the number of participants per 100 player-seasons and presented with 95% CIs. The 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 data were included in the analysis, however caution is warranted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical incidence ratios (CIRs) were estimated for sex-comparable sports, and significance was determined if 95% CIs excluded 1.00. The authors compared mechanism of injury in boys' and girls' comparable sports with chi-square analyses (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Among 25,482 total SRCs, the overall clinical incidence of SRC for all boys and girls was 1.17 (95% CI 1.15-1.18) per 100 player-seasons across all years. Across all years, the overall clinical incidence in boys' sports was 1.34 (95% CI 1.32-1.36) per 100 player-seasons, and 0.93 (95% CI 0.91-0.95) per 100 player-seasons in girls' sports. Boys' sports with the highest clinical incidence included football, ice hockey, and wrestling. Girls' sports with the highest clinical incidence included basketball, soccer, lacrosse, competitive cheer, and gymnastics. Girls consistently had higher SRC rates relative to boys for baseball/softball, basketball, and soccer (CIR range 1.65 [95% CI 1.41-1.93] to 3.32 [95% CI 2.67-4.16]). Girls had lower SRC in lacrosse in 2015/2016 (CIR 0.63, 95% CI 0.40-0.97); no difference in 2016/2017-2020/2021, but had higher clinical incidence in 2021/2022 (CIR 1.69, 95% CI 1.18-2.44) relative to boys. In boys the most common mechanism of SRC occurred from person-to-person contact (n = 8752, 62.8%), whereas girls commonly sustained SRC from person-to-object contact (n = 2369, 33.4%) and from person-to-person contact (n = 2368, 33.4%). There were significant associations between boys' versus girls' sports and mechanism of injury within baseball/softball (χ2 = 12.71, p = 0.005); basketball (χ2 = 36.47, p < 0.001); lacrosse (χ2 = 185.15, p < 0.001); and soccer (χ2 = 122.70, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings can help understand the potential impact of interventions aimed at preventing or reducing SRC. Including girls' sports within this study extends research for a largely underrepresented group.

Unveiling the urban sports landscape: Profiling participants, motives, and policy implications.

BACKGROUND: The lack of knowledge regarding urban sports poses pressing challenges for governments and sports organisations to deal with in light of its increasing popularity. To develop targeted policy strategies, more insight is needed into the features of urban sports. Therefore, this research aims to establish a profile of urban sports participants in terms of characteristics, behaviours in sports participation, and motives for sports participation. METHODS: Data was gathered during a large-scale research project on sports participation in the Belgian city of Bruges. A total of 3,951 residents between 6 and 75 years old participated in an online survey. Descriptive statistics and binomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the differences between urban and traditional sports participants. RESULTS: Based on a binomial regression model, the sports level and location significantly predict urban sports participation. The physical motives for sports participation are significantly less important for urban sports participants compared to the group of traditional sports participants. Urban sports participants value the fun and relaxation motives for sports participation significantly more than traditional sports participants. CONCLUSIONS: This paper aimed to establish a comprehensive profile of urban sports participants and juxtaposed it to that of traditional sports participants. While existing literature often portrays urban sports participants as a relatively homogeneous group, our findings reveal a surprising heterogeneity. Consequently, given its increasing popularity, urban sports present a valuable avenue for governments and sports organisations to engage with a diverse range of sports participants.

Design, Fabrication, and Evaluation of 3D Biopotential Electrodes and Intelligent Garment System for Sports Monitoring.

This study presents the development and evaluation of an innovative intelligent garment system, incorporating 3D knitted silver biopotential electrodes, designed for long-term sports monitoring. By integrating advanced textile engineering with wearable monitoring technologies, we introduce a novel approach to real-time physiological signal acquisition, focusing on enhancing athletic performance analysis and fatigue detection. Utilizing low-resistance silver fibers, our electrodes demonstrate significantly reduced skin-to-electrode impedance, facilitating improved signal quality and reliability, especially during physical activities. The garment system, embedded with these electrodes, offers a non-invasive, comfortable solution for continuous ECG and EMG monitoring, addressing the limitations of traditional Ag/AgCl electrodes, such as skin irritation and signal degradation over time. Through various experimentation, including impedance measurements and biosignal acquisition during cycling activities, we validate the system's effectiveness in capturing high-quality physiological data. Our findings illustrate the electrodes' superior performance in both dry and wet conditions. This study not only advances the field of intelligent garments and biopotential monitoring, but also provides valuable insights for the application of intelligent sports wearables in the future.

"Where I Didn't Have to Hear Anything, and I Could Just Run": The Lived Sport Experiences of Deaf or Hard of Hearing Collegiate Athletes.

Accessible and inclusive participation in sport can provide significant physical, psychological, and social benefits to Deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) athletes. To understand how to facilitate these benefits, the researchers explored the lived physical education and sport experiences of D/HH collegiate athletes. Six athletes representing six sports were recruited and interviewed. Utilizing an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to guide data collection, analysis, and interpretation, the researchers found five major themes: Self-Advocating for Awareness, Finding Meaningful Conversations, Overcoming Challenges, Seeking Community Connection, and Escaping Through Physical Activity. These themes illustrate the influence of accessibility and inclusion on the participants' sport experiences as well as the impact of the disability awareness of their coaches and peers. D/HH athletes and their coaches and teammates should work to overcome barriers to accessibility and inclusion to ensure the maximum benefit of being on a college sports team.

The Current State of Knowledge Regarding the Genetic Predisposition to Sports and Its Health Implications in the Context of the Redox Balance, Especially Antioxidant Capacity.

The significance of physical activity in sports is self-evident. However, its importance is becoming increasingly apparent in the context of public health. The constant desire to improve health and performance suggests looking at genetic predispositions. The knowledge of genes related to physical performance can be utilized initially in the training of athletes to assign them to the appropriate sport. In the field of medicine, this knowledge may be more effectively utilized in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. Physical exertion engages the entire organism, and at a basic physiological level, the organism's responses are primarily related to oxidant and antioxidant reactions due to intensified cellular respiration. Therefore, the modifications involve the body adjusting to the stresses, especially oxidative stress. The consequence of regular exercise is primarily an increase in antioxidant capacity. Among the genes considered, those that promote oxidative processes dominate, as they are associated with energy production during exercise. What is missing, however, is a look at the other side of the coin, which, in this case, is antioxidant processes and the genes associated with them. It has been demonstrated that antioxidant genes associated with increased physical performance do not always result in increased antioxidant capacity. Nevertheless, it seems that maintaining the oxidant-antioxidant balance is the most important thing in this regard.

Peculiarities of students' mental functions development under the influence of different physical activities.

OBJECTIVE: Aim: The aim is to study the influence of the training activities of different orientations on the attention development of student specializing in different sports. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: The study involved 127 students, who were divided into three groups: group A (n=68) was engaged in speed and power sports, group B (n=59) was engaged in endurance sports, the control group (n=83) included peer students who did not do sports during their studies. The research on students' attention was carried out according to Anfimov's test using a table with letters. RESULTS: Results: It was revealed that speed and power activities increase the integrated indicator of attention (the coefficient of work performance) based only on the speed of viewing characters with unreliable changes in the correctness of the work indicators. Under the influence of endurance training, the coefficient of efficiency is increased based on both an increase in the speed of viewing characters and the correctness of the work indicators. The students of the control group were found to have insignificant changes in the studied indicators of attention. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: This suggests that endurance training promotes the development of students' attention more ef f ectively. It is set, that specifics of the training process, its orientation equally specifically specialize the peculiarities of the attention development of students.

Reliability and validity of "My Jump 2" application for countermovement jump free arm and interlimb jump symmetry in different sports of professional athletes.

Background: Vertical jumping is an important evaluation tool to measure muscle strength and power as well as lower limb symmetry. It is of practical importance and value to develop and utilize a portable and low-cost mobile application (APP) to evaluate jumping. The "My Jump 2" app is an iPhone camera-based application for measuring jumping movements, which is applied to the countermovement jump (CMJ) vertical jumps of the lower limbs of athletes in different sports. The validity of this application and previous versions applied to different forms of vertical jump tests has been preliminarily demonstrated in different population, which has an obvious progress in research. Therefore, the reliability and validity of the jump height, time of flight parameters and symmetry of the CMJ vertical jump of athletes in different sports are needed to be verified by more experiments. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to verify whether "My Jump 2" can effectively and reliably assess jump height, flight practice and lower limb symmetry in CMJAM (countermovement jump free arm) tests in fencing, swimming and diving athletes. Methods: Seventy-nine fencers, swimmers and divers with training experience participated in this study. They completed a total of three CMJAM vertical jump and lower limb symmetry tests in 1 day, while being assessed by using the "My Jump 2" application and a force platform. The intra-group correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to verify reliability, while the Cronbach's alpha and coefficient of variation (CV%) was used to analyze the stability of the CMJAM vertical jump test over three jumps. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to verify the strength of the relationship between methods (i.e., concurrent validity), and the Bland-Altman plot was used to represent consistency, meanwhile, the t-test was used to determine the systematic bias between methods. Results: Compared with the force platform, the cumulative height values of the total number of jumps (r = 0.999; p = 0.000), the cumulative time to vacate (r = 0.999; p = 0.000) for the CMJAM test obtained by the "My Jump 2" application, the height (ICC = 0.999-1, p = 0.000), the time to vacate flight (ICC = 0.999-1, p = 0.000), contact time symmetry (ICC = 0.976-0.994, p = 0.000), and flight time symmetry (ICC = 0.921-0.982, p = 0.000), respectively. Showed high correlation between the results of "my jump 2" app and the force platform. Conclusion: The "My Jump 2" application is a valid tool to assess CMJAM vertical jump and lower limb symmetry in fencing, swimming and diving athletes with training experience.

[Young female athletes and high-level sport]. / Jeunes femmes et sport de haut niveau.

YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES AND HIGH LEVEL SPORT. The impact of intensive sport on the menstrual cycle varies according to the individual and the nutritional balance in relation to energy expenditure; impaired reproductive function with menstrual disturbances is an indicator of the syndrome of relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs). Raising the awareness of the female elite athlete, her sport environment, her family and the health professionals in charge of medical care enables better prevention and avoids harmful consequences on bone metabolism, reduced immunity and cardiovascular risk, among others, and the impact on endurance and resistance performance. The absence of a menstrual cycle, apart from hormonal contraception, is incompatible with the research of sport performance. Similarly, moderate to severe dysmenorrhea, heavy menstrual periods which are a source of iron-deficiency anemia, and premenstrual syndrome which interferes with training, should not be treated as a fatality or taboo subject, but should be managed by appropriate treatment and explained to the athlete to ensure care compliance.

JEUNES FEMMES ET SPORT DE HAUT NIVEAU. L'impact du sport intensif sur le cycle menstruel varie en fonction de chacune, de l'équilibre nutritionnel par rapport à la dépense énergétique ; les perturbations du cycle menstruel constituent un indicateur du syndrome de déficit énergétique relatif dans le sport (REDs). La sensibilisation de la sportive, de son environnement sportif, familial et des professionnels de santé en charge du suivi médical permet une meilleure prévention et évite notamment les conséquences néfastes sur le métabolisme osseux, la diminution de l'immunité, le risque cardiovasculaire et l'impact sur la performance en endurance et en résistance. L'absence de cycle menstruel, hors contraception hormonale, est antinomique avec la recherche de la performance. De la même façon, la dysménorrhée modérée à sévère, des règles abondantes, sources d'anémie ferriprive ou un syndrome prémenstruel gênant l'entraînement ne doivent pas être vécus comme une fatalité ou un sujet tabou, mais être pris en charge par un traitement adapté et expliqué à la sportive pour soutenir l'adhésion à la prise en charge.

[Endometriosis, physical activity and sport]. / Endométriose et activité physique et sportive.

ENDOMETRIOSIS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SPORT. Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory gynecological disorder that impacts the quality of life of 10% of women of reproductive age with chronic recurrent pain and/or infertility. Management is a challenge both at the diagnostic time because no symptom is specific and at the therapeutic time to limit the symptoms of the disease. Recent studies suggest that physical activity has a beneficial effect on the perception of pain and the quality of life of women, if it is adapted to physical abilities, avoiding high-intensity sports during painful periods. Regular adapted physical activity combining endurance, stretching and flexibility at a light to moderate intensity, should allow a physical and psychological well-being for women with endometriosis in association with medical and/or surgical treatment.

ENDOMÉTRIOSE ET ACTIVITÉ PHYSIQUE ET SPORTIVE. L'endométriose est une affection gynécologique chronique, inflammatoire, qui impacte la qualité de vie de 10 % des femmes en âge de procréer car elle entraîne des douleurs chroniques récurrentes et/ou une infertilité. La prise en charge est un défi tant au niveau diagnostique, car aucun symptôme n'est spécifique, qu'au niveau thérapeutique pour limiter les symptômes de la maladie. Les études récentes suggèrent que l'activité physique a un effet bénéfique sur la perception de la douleur et la qualité de vie des femmes, si elle est adaptée à la condition physique, en limitant les sports de forte intensité lors des périodes douloureuses. Une pratique régulière d'activités physiques adaptées associant endurance, étirements, assouplissements, à intensité légère à modérée, doit permettre un mieux-être physique et psychique de la femme souffrant d'endométriose en association au traitement médical et/ou chirurgical.

[Sport and menopause]. / Sport et ménopause.

SPORT AND MENOPAUSE. The menopause is a physiological period in a woman's life that can be marked by a lot of symptoms impacting her quality of life. The most frequent complaints are hot flushes, mood, sleep and memory disorders. The risk of osteoporosis, loss of muscular strength, cardiovascular and metabolic risk increases more as there is a reduction in physical activity and an increase in sedentary time during this period. Recommendations for physical activity and sport help to limit the symptoms and health risks, induced by hypoestrogenism during this period of a woman's life. It is the combination of regular physical activity, at least moderate in endurance and muscular strengthening, that provides the greatest benefits, and women should be made aware of this.

SPORT ET MÉNOPAUSE. La ménopause est une période physiologique de la vie de la femme qui peut être marquée par de nombreux symptômes impactant sa qualité de vie. Les plaintes les plus fréquentes sont les bouffées de chaleur, les troubles de l'humeur, du sommeil et de la mémoire. Le risque d'ostéoporose, de perte de force musculaire, les risques cardiovasculaire et métabolique augmentent d'autant plus qu'il y a une diminution de la pratique d'activité physique et une majoration du temps de sédentarité, fréquentes à cette période. Les recommandations d'activité physique et sportive contribuent à limiter les symptômes et les risques sur la santé induits par l'hypo-estrogénie. La pratique régulière d'activité physique au moins modérée en endurance et en renforcement musculaire apporte le plus de bénéfices, ce dont les femmes doivent être informées.

Self-health promotion: A study on the mode of acquiring sports health knowledge and skills among older adults members of sports communities.

OBJECTIVE: The research aims to construct a mode and the pathway relationships of acquiring sports health knowledge and skills among members of older adults sports communities. METHOD: The research was primarily conducted through random sampling, purposive sampling, and questionnaire surveys. A sample of 457 older adults from Luoyang City was selected as the research subjects. Exploratory analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were conducted by employing SPSS 26.0 and Amos 26.0 software(Exploratory analysis and structural equation analysis). RESULTS: The study indicates that the influence of older adults sports community culture on the pursuit of sports health knowledge and skills is statistically significant (ß = 0.69, P<0.001); the influence of sports community culture on the motivation to enhance sports health knowledge and skills is statistically significant (ß = 0.32, P<0.001); the influence of the pursuit of sports health knowledge and skills on the motivation to enhance these knowledge and skills is statistically significant (ß = 0.47, P<0.001); the influence of the motivation to enhance sports health knowledge and skills on the behavior of acquiring these knowledge and skills is statistically significant (ß = 0.60, P<0.001); both the pursuit of sports health knowledge and skills and the motivation to enhance these knowledge and skills serve as mediating variables. CONCLUSION: The more harmonious and positive the sports community culture is, the stronger the sense of pursuing health and the motivation to acquire knowledge are among older adults. The stronger the health pursuit among older adults, the higher their motivation to enhance sports health knowledge and skills shows. Furthermore, the higher the motivation of older adults to enhance sports health knowledge and skills is, the more efficient their behavior in acquiring these knowledge and skills becomes. The motivation to enhance sports health knowledge and skills serves as a complete mediating variable in this process.

Enhancing sports image data classification in federated learning through genetic algorithm-based optimization of base architecture.

Nowadays, federated learning is one of the most prominent choices for making decisions. A significant benefit of federated learning is that, unlike deep learning, it is not necessary to share data samples with the model owner. The weight of the global model in traditional federated learning is created by averaging the weights of all clients or sites. In the proposed work, a novel method has been discussed to generate an optimized base model without hampering its performance, which is based on a genetic algorithm. Chromosome representation, crossover, and mutation-all the intermediate operations of the genetic algorithm have been illustrated with useful examples. After applying the genetic algorithm, there is a significant improvement in inference time and a huge reduction in storage space. Therefore, the model can be easily deployed on resource-constrained devices. For the experimental work, sports data has been used in balanced and unbalanced scenarios with various numbers of clients in a federated learning environment. In addition, we have used four famous deep learning architectures, such as AlexNet, VGG19, ResNet50, and EfficientNetB3, as the base model. We have achieved 92.34% accuracy with 9 clients in the balanced data set by using EfficientNetB3 as the base model using a GA-based approach. Moreover, after applying the genetic algorithm to optimize EfficientNetB3, there is an improvement in inference time and storage space by 20% and 2.35%, respectively.

Pathogen prioritisation for wastewater surveillance ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, France.

BackgroundWastewater surveillance is an effective approach to monitor population health, as exemplified by its role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.AimThis study explores the possibility of extending wastewater surveillance to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, focusing on identifying priority pathogen targets that are relevant and feasible to monitor in wastewater for these events.MethodsA list of 60 pathogens of interest for general public health surveillance for the Games was compiled. Each pathogen was evaluated against three inclusion criteria: (A) analytical feasibility; (B) relevance, i.e. with regards to the specificities of the event and the characteristics of the pathogen; and (C) added value to inform public health decision-making. Analytical feasibility was assessed through evidence from peer-reviewed publications demonstrating the detectability of pathogens in sewage, refining the initial list to 25 pathogens. Criteria B and C were evaluated via expert opinion using the Delphi method. The panel consisting of some 30 experts proposed five additional pathogens meeting criterion A, totalling 30 pathogens assessed throughout the three-round iterative questionnaire. Pathogens failing to reach 70% group consensus threshold underwent further deliberation by a subgroup of experts.ResultsSix priority targets suitable for wastewater surveillance during the Games were successfully identified: poliovirus, influenza A virus, influenza B virus, mpox virus, SARS-CoV-2 and measles virus.ConclusionThis study introduced a model framework for identifying context-specific wastewater surveillance targets for a mass gathering. Successful implementation of a wastewater surveillance plan for Paris 2024 could incentivise similar monitoring efforts for other mass gatherings globally.